Unbreakable
by flipflopf5
Summary: Katniss had scars from when she was tormented and bullied by a certain blond-haired boy in elementary school. Now sixteen years old, she faces her past once again, and wonders if this was her chance to show that she wasn't a weak little girl anymore.
1. Chapter 1: Refacing The Past

**Alright you all! Here's my new story! You might recognize me from HEART OF STEEL, or you just happen to be a new reader. Either way, I welcome anyone.**

**Before you read this chapter, know that I made Cato very OOC. If you like it, great, if you don't, I'll cry. But it doesn't matter. I had fun writing this and I hope to upload as often as I can.**

**Now without further ado, CHAPTER ONE!**

CHAPTER ONE

_ "Please! Please just stop!"_

_ The oldest laughed as he shoved her towards the next kid waiting, who quickly pushed her back to another boy as if she was a germ. "You ugly little bookworm, thinking you can just plead and everything will be fine again."_

_ The girl with the braids began to cry as the blond boy shoved her to the dirty ground, and from her hand she released her book. He kicked her and spit on the girl's floral skirt. _

_ The two other boys laughed and joined into the kicking. The small girl covered her head in her hands and curled as she felt their shoes everywhere. One was brought painfully to her elbow, the tip scraping past. She didn't have to look to know that it was bleeding._

_ "This isn't any fun anymore," the blond sighed as he stopped. The two others quickly followed. "She isn't screaming in pain. Let's just go."_

_ When she thought they had walked away, she slowly got up and crawled over to her book, only to have it kicked out of her hands again. "Everdeen, you're so weak. No wonder nobody wants to be your friend."_

_ The small girl scrambled for her book again and she looked upwards to see the face of her tormentor sneering. "Good luck getting tough."_

_ The two others clapped him on the back and then they left, leaving her to cry. _

_ She was too numb. It hurt everywhere. She couldn't even bring the strength to pull her knees up and sob, pretending that she was inside that same wardrobe she used to hide in whenever she was scared or upset._

_ She stared after their retreating backs and sniffled, wanting more than anything for this day to be over._

She woke up from the vivid dream in cold sweat, her hand instantly lifting to touch her elbow, only to find it completely dry of blood. Her fingertips only brushed passed the small jagged line from when the blond bully from her elementary years had kicked her.

"Katniss wake up," a timid voice said from behind the door.

"I'm awake," Katniss replied almost sadly as she got out of bed and headed towards her wardrobe.

She numbly pulled on her clothes as her mind wondered how now of all times she had to have that dream. It was probably the stress of moving back to her hometown that has got her to think up all of these unwanted memories.

Katniss sighed as she pulled on her blue blazer and left the room.

Her mother and younger sister were already sitting in the kitchen when she arrived. Prim looked tired, not wanting to eat the bowl of oatmeal in front of her.

"What's wrong, Prim?" her mother asked as Katniss took her seat.

She sighed and cupped her cheek in one hand. "You know," she mumbled.

Katniss and her mother glanced at each other. "Prim, you'll make plenty of friends here in Fieldstone. And besides, you'll keep in touch with your old friends too, won't you?" her mother encouraged.

"They're not _old_, mom, they're my friends right now!"

"You had no trouble making friends before. Why are you so upset?"

Prim was quiet as she played with the oatmeal in front of her. Then she grumbled, "You wouldn't care."

Her mother took a deep breath and half-heartedly slid the bowl of oatmeal towards Katniss. "Eat your breakfast before you go to school." Then she turned and went back inside the kitchen.

Katniss turned to look back at Prim, who pushed the bowl of oatmeal away from her and stood. She grabbed her backpack and blinked up at the ceiling before leaving the room.

Katniss didn't feel like eating. She swirled the oatmeal with one hand and managed to swallow a few spoonfuls before she stood as well. "We're going to school now," she told her mom, who sighed but nodded.

"Have fun."

Katniss nudged Prim to her feet, and she sighed, rubbing her face in her hands before standing. They left the house without another glance behind them.

Prim trudged her feet, and Katniss put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her.

At the touch, Prim sighed once more. "How can she be so oblivious?" she grumbled under her breath.

"It's going to be alright, Prim. Mom's still down from father's…passing," the word slipped unnaturally from her mouth and she looked at Prim once more in defeat. "We're going to the same school, anyway, Prim. So don't worry. If anything happens I'll be right there."

Prim looked up at her older sister and offered a tiny smile before grasping her hand and continuing on to the bus stop.

They were the only ones at the block, and when the bus came, they both got on, only to find it completely crowded. There wasn't an empty seat for the both of them.

Prim's hand squeezed Katniss's even tighter, and she leaned down and whispered, "It's okay, Prim. Just ask to sit next to someone and try to make a friend."

She looked doubtful, but hesitantly let go of Katniss's hand and walked to a seat. Katniss couldn't hear what she said, but the boy nodded and moved his backpack so she could sit down.

Katniss gave her a soft smile in which she returned, and then she moved to a seat near the back.

"Mind if I sit here?" Katniss asked the girl.

She leaned off of the window and took out her earphones. "Yeah, sure."

Katniss nodded her thanks and took a seat, and the bus was on its way again. Katniss was planning to keep quiet for the entire ride, but the girl looked over. "You're new, right?"

Katniss blinked. "What?"

The girl grinned. "Don't act dumb. South Head is a real tiny school. We'd know if there were any new kids."

Katniss nodded slowly, understanding as she spoke, "Yeah. I'm going into junior year of high school."

"You're kidding!" the girl suddenly exclaimed. Thank goodness the bus was already crowded and loud or else everyone would've turned to stare. "I'm in junior year. You don't happen to have your schedule, do you?"

Katniss unzipped her backpack and pulled out her schedule she received in the mail when she moved here. She was hesitant to give it to a sudden stranger, but then again, it wasn't like it was her will or anything.

The girl took the paper and her eyes skimmed over it. "Nice, I have a few classes with you."

Katniss nodded uncomfortably and took the paper, tucking it back into her folder when the girl spoke again, "My name's Madge Undersee. And you are?"

"Katniss," she replied slowly, reaching out to shake the girl's hand, "Katniss Everdeen."

"That's an interesting name," the girl commented, "And you look so tan too. In Oregon, it's rare to get a tan during the school year."

"That's because I'm from Arizona," Katniss replied shortly.

"That's so cool. I've always wanted to say something like: No, I'm from Arizona, but I moved to Oregon." Madge rolled her eyes. "You know how boring it is to say that you lived here all your life?"

"No," Katniss replied curtly, and Madge grinned.

"That's why it's so unoriginal." Madge was rather talkative for a sixteen-year-old girl. All Katniss wanted to do was scoot away until she ended up off the seat. Then again, it might be a blessing for someone to start a conversation. Katniss wasn't the kind to be the first to talk, and by someone else doing it, it guaranteed an early road to a friend.

"You live kind of close to the school though," Madge commented, "Why doesn't anyone drive you?"

Katniss was silent for a moment. Her father usually drove them to school. With him gone, her mother had no choice but to give them the bus route. After all, she had a job too.

"It's complicated," Katniss decided to answer after a moment. Madge nodded slowly before shrinking back into her seat.

She was silent for the rest of the ride. Or at least, for most of it. She let Katniss hear the songs she listened to, and explained that her father was the head of a really big music company and that he knew some of the singers.

Katniss didn't like the songs, but that was partially because she never spent her time listening to music anyways. The only songs she liked were old valley songs, like the ones her father would sing to her. Of course, she would never admit that now that she was out of the country and in the real suburban world.

It was really complicated though, since she lived in Oregon before up until they moved to Arizona when she was seven years old. When her father died, they had no choice but to move back here so her mother can take over the gift shop once more.

Katniss didn't want to think about it any longer, so when the bus came to a stop, she was nearly relieved when she got off.

The building in front of her stretched out long, but it wasn't two-story like her old school. It really was small. However she only had two-not even two-one and a half years left before she graduated. Then it was certain that she'll get a job and continue on with her life.

She gripped her backpack with one hand and walked into the double doors. The halls were crowded, and she found herself getting pushed back and forth against her own will. The feeling resembled the ones from when she was a child, and with a terrified jerk, she found herself inside the cafeteria.

Katniss regained her footing and turned, hoping to catch the blond hair of her younger sister. But in the sea of students, it was impossible, so she sighed and walked into the cafeteria.

On the way down the row of tables, she heard a voice call out her name, "Katniss! Katniss, is that you?"

She turned and found a pair of brown eyes staring at her from a far table. The group of friends around her stopped talking to stare.

Cautiously, Katniss made her way forward until she was near there table. "Who are you?" she asked a bit more bluntly.

"What's this, you don't remember your own cousin's name?"

Katniss paused to study the girl. She was short, with a row of freckles splashed on her cheekbones. Her hair was up in two buns and she had an almost scary grin on her face. In her hand she clutched a pencil, sharpened to the point where it seemed to stab the table whenever she tapped it against the surface.

Katniss instantly remembered her. It was her cousin from a long time ago. She always had something sharp on her, and back when Katniss was weak and unprotected she'd get attacked by her all the time. Seeing her now did not sport any good memories.

"Clove?" Katniss asked.

She grinned and reached out, practically forcing Katniss into an empty seat when she was ready to walk away.

"I haven't seen you since we were seven. Where'd you go?" Clove asked with excited eyes.

"To Arizona."

"Wow," another girl said. She grinned and leaned forward on her elbows, "No wonder you're so tan. I'm jealous."

She was tall, almost model-like. She had soft wavy blond curls that fell over her shoulders and bright green eyes that complimented her white complexion.

"Katniss, this is Glimmer. She's one of my closest friends."

"Nice to meet you," Glimmer smiled, extending a hand which Katniss shook after a moment of thought. "Is she a friend of yours?" she directed this question to Clove.

"We're cousins," Katniss answered.

"Wow," a boy spoke this time, "I never thought someone like Clove would have such a pretty cousin."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Clove whirled to glare at the boy and he laughed despite the anger in her eyes.

"Nothing, nothing," he waved dismissively, but the action made Clove even angrier.

"Why you little-" She stood and was ready to pounce on him, but someone held her back.

"Madge?" Katniss asked in surprise as she realized who the holder was.

"Oh, Katniss!" she grinned happily.

Clove stopped thrashing and turned to look quizzically at the two of them. "You guys know each other?"

"Oh, we just met on the bus this morning," Madge replied, forcefully pushing Clove back in her seat before taking the empty one next to her.

"Lost your fire, Clove?" the boy sneered again and this time, it was Madge who threatening gave him a glare.

"Watch it, Marvel," Clove icily told him and he mockingly cowered behind another boy.

"Oh, Peeta, when did you get here?" Glimmer asked in surprise at the sudden appearance of the blond-haired boy.

"Just a while ago," he answered. He turned to look at the dark-haired girl who remained silent for most of the conversations. "You're Katniss, right? I'm Peeta."

Katniss nodded in recognition before sighing.

"Why'd you come back from Arizona?" Clove asked her, "I mean…not that I'm sad that you did, but still-Why all of the sudden?"

Everyone seemed to be waiting for her response, but she just sighed, "It's complicated."

Madge's eyebrows rose when Clove, her own cousin, received the same answer from when she asked her on the bus why nobody drove her to school.

Everyone seemed to leave it at, or found no suspicions in it and returned to their conversations.

When the bell rang, everyone zombie-like began to rise to their feet, groaning about not finishing any homework from the night before.

"Hey, Katniss!"

She turned and saw Clove break away from her group of friends to catch up with her. "Can I see your schedule? It'd be awesome if we had any classes together."

Silently, Katniss pulled out the piece of paper from the yellow envelope and gave it to her. Clove scanned the schedule for a moment before grinning and handing it back, "PE and English Literature. I can deal with that."

They walked on for a while into the halls when Clove broke off, "This is where I take my leave. See you at lunch, Katniss." Then she disappeared into an open door.

Katniss made sure not to get shoved into anyone the entire walk to her first period. She already resurfaced the feeling of it moments ago, and was not ready to deal with it again.

The classroom was at the way end of the hall, and Katniss walked in just as the bell rang.

"Late as usual, I see, Mr. Ludwig." Katniss stared at the teacher, but when he turned he seemed surprised to find a girl in the place of the boy he mentioned. "Ah, the new kid. Grab a seat."

Katniss nodded and retreated to the back of the room, where she sat down at an empty desk.

"Everyone else who's name is not Katniss Everdeen please hand in your art projects in the front of the room."

A few people lumbered out of their seats to go turn them in. More than half remained seated either touching up their unfinished work or slouching down in their chairs, hoping not to be seen.

The teacher saw these students and sighed. "Lazy kids," he muttered under his breath. He seemed to notice Katniss watching him and walked forward to her desk. "Sketchbook?" Katniss realized after a moment he was asking her if she had it, and she nodded. "Colored pencils?" Another nod. "Scissors?"

Katniss sighed. "No need to ask me, Mr. Abernathy," she read off his staff ID, "I have everything that I need for Art."

"Oh do you?" he challenged. She looked at him icily and he grinned, wagging his finger before turning to head back to the front of the room. "I like this girl. She's got a lot of…spunk!"

Katniss glared at the back of his head when everybody started to turn to stare at her.

Then the door opened and everyone's gazes changed direction. A boy, no taller than she was, walked in. He was quite handsome, but Katniss would never admit that out loud. Something unnerved her about him though, as if he held some kind of importance she couldn't quite remember.

"I see you've arrived, Mr. Ludwig," Mr. Abernathy said, frowning at him, "I'm guessing you brought your homework assignment?"

With a clatter, he carelessly put it down onto the desk where every other canvas was drying off. Then he turned and walked to the back of the room, where he slid into the desk next to hers.

When Mr. Abernathy began to start his lecture, Katniss found herself peeking from the corners of her eyes at him.

He had ashen blond hair that fell over his cold blue eyes, and he seemed to disregard every single one of the fluttery glances other girls in the classroom turned to give him.

He pulled out his sketchbook, marked a page, and began to take notes.

Something bothered Katniss. Why did this boy look so familiar? Surely they've met before, but Katniss couldn't put her finger on it.

She pulled out her own sketchbook and pencil and wrote the date down on the first page.

That hair, those eyes. It ringed a bell. At first she believed she was imaging things but after another glance, she knew she wasn't. The only boy she remembered from her past with the same hair and color eyes was her bully from elementary school.

When it dawned onto her who he was she nearly fell out of her seat in shock.

** Chapter One, done! It was fun writing a Modern Day Catoniss. I love it. **

** If you have any ideas on what should happen in the next chapter, PM me or leave a review! I might use it, I might not, but if I do I will for sure mention you in an Author's Note.**

** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and I guarantee there will be more of the two of them lovebirds in the next update. Thank you all for reading and see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 2: His First Words

**Thank you all for your support in my story! It means a lot! To clear things up, Cato is OC. It couldn't be seen in the chapter before but I think it will be seen in this one.**

**I've read your recommendations on what will happen later on in the story and I'm taking them into consideration. They're all very wonderful ideas, by the way!**

**I shouldn't keep you from this chapter though, so without further ado: CHAPTER TWO!**

CHAPTER TWO

At the end of class, Katniss numbly packed all of her things and left the classroom without another word.

It couldn't be. He definitely could not be Cato. _The_ Cato who had tormented her ever since she was a child. It would be way too coincidental and frankly, uncalled for. Judging by the way he coldly disregarded her when Mr. Abernathy introduced her as the newest student, he didn't seem to remember her even in the slightest. Otherwise, it wasn't the Cato Katniss had thought he was.

She exhaled deeply and didn't notice until her name was called twice. She looked up to find Madge and Glimmer standing there. "Oh, hi," Katniss said, blankly watching the two of them as they took up either side next to her.

"Why did you suddenly space off like that?" Madge asked.

"Yeah," Glimmer agreed, "We were calling your name about a hundred times-each."

"I guess I didn't hear," Katniss half-heartedly excused herself.

They walked on in silence until Katniss noticed they were both entering the same door she was entering. "Oh, you two have Home Ec. as well?"

Madge turned and grinned at her as they walked down the row of desks. "Yeah, isn't that great?"

The room was rather different from Mr. Abernathy's. Instead of old wooden desks, they were long tables that could seat two people at once. Hung up on the wall behind a kitchen counter was an array of pots and pans that looked shiny and unused before. It was like stepping into a kitchen extended outwards to form a classroom.

Katniss nodded and retreated to the back of the room, only to be yanked back forcefully by her arm. "Hey, where do you think you're going?" Madge demanded before shoving her into the seat next to hers. "Sit with us!"

"Yeah, don't be a loner," Glimmer said, smiling as she pulled out her binder and notebook.

Katniss didn't say anything to that and proceeded to pull out her own stuff.

When the bell rang and the last of the lingering students filed in, the teacher stepped back from the board he was writing on. He was tall and thin, with short curly brown hair and caramel-colored skin to match. He looked kinder than Mr. Abernathy and more likable as well.

"Hello, everyone," he greeted with a pivot on his heels, "and how are you all doing?"

A chorus of tired answers replied but despite that, he grinned. "Ah, well. You all won't be tired after this. Today we'll be learning how to deal with washing dishes."

Immediately, a groan followed after that and a kid whined much like a child, "That's boring."

"Then you're boring." This time, a few chuckles sounded and the boy blushed. "Just kidding, but, yes, you're right. It might sound boring but let me ask all of you this: After cooking and creating the most delicious meals for everyone to eat, who's going to clean?"

"My brother of course," a girl spoke.

"Sure, maybe, but what if he's not home? And you're the only one there." The teacher smiled and turned to face everyone again. "You can't just keep stacking up dirty dishes in the sink after every meal. It'll start to smell and you'll run out of plates." He didn't wait for a reply this time because he kept going, "Today I want you all, with the partner sitting next to you, to head over to either of the three sinks in the back. Now I know all twelve of you guys can't be there all at once, so we'll take turns. The ones waiting will look through the textbooks beneath your desks to review for the upcoming test next Monday."

A few groans rang out but he held up a stiff finger to silence everyone. "This is your time to take notes and study. Be thankful."

People sighed but no one argued as the teacher grinned. "Alright then, let's get to work. First three pairs go on. Dirty dishes are waiting in the back."

Six kids stood up and headed to the back. Katniss knew they were next but she still pulled out the textbook the teacher mentioned.

"Cinna going on and saying that we have to do this lousy test. I have two other quizzes that same week. Oh what should I do?" Madge complained next to her as she flipped through the pages.

"Cinna? Is that what we call him?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, he hates being called Mr. Cravvy. He claims it sounds too much like crabby." Madge shrugged her shoulders, causing her strawberry blond hair to ripple over her sweater. "I don't know. Cinna's just like that. But as far as I can tell, he's the most reasonable teacher here. Don't take it for granted though. He makes the hardest test any home economics class can take."

Katniss nodded in understanding as she looked through the textbook. "So where should I begin?" she asked.

"I recommend the basic steps into culinary," Glimmer answered her as she leaned over to their desk from her own. "Or maybe sewing. Cinna is seriously _deep_ when it comes to clothing. He might as well become a stylist."

The two of them nodded in agreement as Katniss flipped to a blank page in her notebook and began to read through the passage.

She was five minutes in and surprisingly interested in the steps of sewing, so when two fingers snapped once in front of her face, she looked up in immediate embarrassment.

The teacher stood in front of her, and he bent down to look at the chapter she looked so interested in. "Ah, sewing. Good choice! You must be the newest addition to my classroom. Welcome. My name is Cinna."

"Katniss," she answered.

"Go on now. Your partner is waiting."

Katniss turned and saw Madge patiently waiting by the side. She seemed to have heard this and she waved her hands. "Oh, no. That's fine. Take your time."

Cinna nodded at Katniss and grinned before turning and heading towards other groups.

Katniss and Madge walked to the back of the room to an empty sink. Unfortunately, it was on the other side of Glimmer and her partner, but Madge didn't seem to mind much.

They got to work quickly. Madge rinsed the plates before handing them to Katniss, who scrubbed it with soap before handing it back.

As they worked Katniss found her mind drifting back towards Cato. She frowned when she found herself thinking about him. He didn't deserve her thoughts.

If he wasn't the Cato she was relating too, it was cruel of her to judge him like that, but how often was it she ran into the same blond-haired boy from Oregon, with the same name as her bully, with the same icy blue eyes? The odds were slim.

She sighed and Madge must've heard because she looked over. "What's wrong? Are your hands getting tired?"

Katniss blinked. "No."

Madge nodded. "Okay."

A minute later, before she could stop herself, Katniss asked Madge, "Hey, do you remember that boy from Art class? The blond one that sat next to me?"

"I didn't have Art before this," Madge admitted, "but I think I know who you are talking about. Is he always late?"

"Seems to be."

Madge grinned. "Ah, that's Cato. Junior year's heartthrob." Those words almost made Katniss vomit. Who needed Cato? Or more precisely, who did Cato need? He's independent and as stubborn as a mule. He didn't need a girl in his life to drag him down.

Madge glanced around before leaning in, gesturing with a finger for Katniss to do so as well. After a moment of hesitation, Katniss obliged. "You know, Glimmer fancies him."

"Really," the word came out more of a statement that a question, but Madge nodded.

"Yup. But more than half of the girl population at this school does too. No matter how you look at it, she's still another fan girl." Madge washed the soapy dish under the running water for a moment before sighing, "I feel bad saying that though, since this is the first time she's ever been interested in someone." In a whisper once more, she continued, "Glimmer's so pretty she gets about a truckload of chocolates on Valentine's day, but she never replied to any love letters. She's too busy being googly-eyed over Cato."

All Katniss could muster was a small, "Mm…" before continued to soap up the dishes.

"Why are you so interested? What? You like him too?" Madge's eyes were lit with excitement.

"What? No," Katniss did not lie. "Just seeing all the girls fall head over heels with him makes me wonder."

Madge smirked. "I should've guessed. Though, in some ways, you remind me of Cato."

Katniss frowned at this and Madge continued, "It's because you two are kind of distant and headstrong. You're like the girl version of him."

Katniss wanted to protest, knowing she hated his guts and wanted to have nothing to do with him, but she let Madge fantasize as she continued to work on her own job in stony silence.

After Home Economics, it was lunch, but Katniss wasn't hungry, not even after she didn't eat her breakfast.

She sat down without any food at a table, only to hear her name being called out. She looked up and saw several of her friends waving her over, and she slowly stood and made her way to an empty seat.

"Don't sit on your own. It's sad," Glimmer told her as she watched Katniss take the seat near her.

"Yeah, from now on, you're part of our group. Whether you like it or not," Peeta grinned.

Katniss nodded in thanks and watched as they all began to dig in.

Clove seemed to be the first to notice her lack of food. "Hey, why aren't you eating?" she asked her while sporting a huge turkey sandwich with her tiny hands.

"I'm not very hungry," Katniss told her.

"What is that?" Glimmer asked, quirking her eyebrows at Katniss. "You're not dieting are you? Because you're already too skinny and starving yourself won't do you any good."

"Ah, just leave her," Clove directed to Glimmer. Then she turned to Katniss with a teasing smirk, "She had a low appetite when she was young as well."

Glimmer nodded in understanding before joining into the conversation beginning on the other side of the table. Katniss watched them eat, but after five minutes, she decided to make use of her time. She pulled out her Home Ec. work and her notebook.

"Studying?" Madge asked in surprise. "Katniss, this is like our break! Lay off of the work."

"I need to catch up since I'm new," Katniss replied, "All of you guys are probably much smarter than I am at the moment."

Marvel heard this and scoffed. "You'd be surprised. There are pretty dumb people out there you know."

"Like you?" Clove teased, earning herself a flick in the head.

Clove growled and lunged for him, but he only laughed and turned away.

Katniss began to work, underlining words in the textbook where the facts seemed to be needed for the upcoming test.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you." Madge paused to swallow down her piece of pizza before continuing, "During these tests, we have to sew at together two pieces of cloth in less than the first fifteen minutes. It's a lot more stressing than it sounds like."

"Good to know," Katniss muttered, feeling her confidence level draining with those words, not that she had much confidence in succeeding anyway. She wasn't suited for cooking or housework. She worked, she had determination, but when it came to becoming a housewife she sank beneath everyone else.

Suddenly, beside her, Glimmer sat up, smacking her arm as she did so. "There he is. There he is."

Everyone at the table immediately stopped talking and looked at whoever she was speaking of. At the sight of him, Katniss's eyes narrowed in disgust.

He walked inside smugly, hands stuffed in his coat pockets as he coldly disregarded the girls flocking him as he made his way to the lunch line.

Glimmer sighed, cupping her chin in her hand as she watched him go. "He's so handsome. Plus, with his grades he's just perfect," she cooed.

"There you go again, Glimmer. Just eat your chicken already." Clove picked up the chicken leg and stuffed it into Glimmer's open mouth, already drooling from the sight of Cato.

Katniss didn't pay attention to that though. She turned back around and continued to read through the passages, but she wasn't focused anymore. So what was the point?

She sighed and slammed the textbook shut, tucking it into her bag before standing.

"Oh? You're leaving already?" Madge asked, looking up.

"I'm going to look for a quieter place to study," Katniss explained shortly before taking her leave.

She walked towards the exit, crossing Cato's path along the way.

The two of them stopped and Katniss instantly felt immense hatred. She glared at his almost bored look before shoving past and leaving.

As she left, Madge stared after her and turned to everyone else. "Hey, doesn't it seem that she really hates Cato?"

"Who can possibly hate Cato?" Glimmer asked in surprise.

"Me," Marvel said. After the glare he earned from Glimmer, he spoke, "What? He gets all the girls. It isn't fair."

Glimmer sneered. "Maybe it's because you're whacko in the head." Marvel childishly stuck out his tongue.

"It's weird though. She asked me today about him in Home Ec. as well." Madge shrugged her shoulders. "Well, I guess I'm being paranoid."

The four of them returned to their lunches but Clove continued to stare after her cousin. She had a good idea why Katniss was acting this way, but she wasn't in the position to share it with even her closest friends, so she remained silent.

Lunch passed quicker than Katniss hoped. She was in the middle of jotting down the dos and don'ts of baking when the librarian quietly cleared her throat. She looked up and the librarian pointed at the clock.

Katniss sighed and nodded, packing up her things before leaving the double doors.

Along the way she bumped into a hard body, and she apologized curtly before looking up at the person.

It was Cato.

Immediately, the apology died off on her tongue and she found herself glaring at him.

He remained expressionless, staring at her with boredom. "What got you pissed?"

It's been nine years since he last laid a finger on her and the first words he said from then were '_What got you pissed_?'

Katniss shouldered her bag and heaved a sigh. "Aren't you going to move?" she demanded.

He stared at her for a moment before stepping aside and letting her pass.

She was still angry when she entered the gym doors. People were already filing in towards the locker rooms, and she followed the girls only to find herself being pulled back by an arm. "Clove," Katniss exclaimed in shock.

She grinned from ear-to-ear. "Yeah, me. Remember? We have PE together."

Katniss nodded as they walked into the locker rooms. She stopped by Coach Meyer's office to receive her locker number and gym clothes. Then she returned back to the steel walls in search of her petite cousin. But she was so short she wasn't seen over the sea of perfumed teenagers.

Katniss dressed quickly before tucking her clothes into her backpack. She didn't need the lockers.

Then she made her way outside, where she found everyone walking in circles in groups around the gym. She caught up with Clove, who had got out first and was walking with a tall and thin redhead.

"Oh, Katniss!" she said before turning to the girl. "Foxface, this is Katniss. Katniss, this is Foxface."

"Pleasure," the girl said, extending a hand in which Katniss shook. "You must think my name is strange." Katniss only offered a nod. "My real name's Marissa but people call me Foxface because I have the features of a fox." She really did look like the fox, but to go as far as to call someone Foxface? It was strange. But Katniss did not argue.

Katniss nodded once more and three were off again. She remembered her. She was in Art class with her that morning, in the seat in front of her.

Five minutes later, Coach Meyer returned and blew her whistle. Everyone immediately hustled to the center of the gym, and to Katniss's utmost disgust, she found herself seated next to Cato himself. She scooted herself away and avoided eye contact with him.

"Alright, you girls," Coach said, looking pointedly at a few boys in the crowd, "To start off the day, spread out and stretch. You know the routine. Then run a lap and return to this spot." Coach paused to look at them, and when she received nothing, she ordered, "_Now_."

Immediately people rose to their feet and did a series of jumping jacks. Katniss followed them as they did hamstring and deltoid stretches. Then they took off running.

Katniss was always known being most fit at her old school. She was captain of her track team, and was known as the Girl on Fire because of someone's comment saying: Her heels were on fire.

She hadn't ran in almost a year now, ever since _that_ _incident_, but she didn't know how much she missed running until she made a full lap and wished to do more.

But she did as she was told and went back to the center circle, sitting down once more next to Foxface, away from Cato this time.

"Girly running," Coach Meyer mumbled under her breath before speaking louder, "Volleyball."

Everyone began whispering amongst themselves excitedly but a shrill whistle sounded and they all ceased talking.

"You know the rules. Anybody playing dirty will be sent to the office personally by me," Coach warned them. She waved her finger randomly in the crowd. "Marissa, Marvel. Choose your teams."

The two stood and one by one pointed out faces in the crowd. Unsurprisingly, Clove and Katniss made it onto Marissa's team. It might as well have been boys vs. girls.

"Six people on each side at one time," Coach told them, and Katniss lingered to the sidelines. "After ten minutes we'll switch players."

Slowly, everyone began to get into positions, deciding who was out and who was in. Katniss took her seat on the bench and watched them as they argued. Then Coach blew her whistle once more. "Alright girlies, get a move on! We don't have all day arguing about whose beauty products are the best!"

The group of remaining kids split up and two other girls took their seat next to Katniss.

"Okay then." Coach blew her whistle loudly and tossed the ball over to the girl on Foxface's team. "Serve the ball, Jones!"

The girl timidly nodded and attempted underhand, but the ball flew way off the court. Katniss caught the ball that sailed above her head with one hand and threw it to the other side on the boy's team.

Immediately, Foxface turned around and whispered a few hard whispers and the girl nodded quickly.

This time, the serve went over, and Clove excitedly called out, "Me! Mine! Fo! Fum!" before bumping the ball back over the net.

The girls cheered when the ball hit the ground and gave her hi-fives.

"Stop celebrating!" a boy from the other team yelled out. "Because soon you'll be crying in the dust!" That earned him about a thousand burning glares from the other team.

Coach didn't seem to mind though and blew the whistle hanging from her lips once more, and the game continued.

It was 12-10 with boys leading when a girl cried out in pain when the ball was spiked straight at her face.

"Oh god, are you okay?" the girls cried out. The boy on the other team looked guilty and earned several smacks in the back of his head.

"She has a bloody nose," Coach decided, "Someone take her to the office."

"I'll do it," the girl next to Katniss said and stood up. The two of them wobbled out of the classroom. The gym was in stunned and worried silence for a moment when Coach snapped her fingers. "You, Everdeen, out on the court."

Katniss didn't need to be told twice by the scary coach. She sighed and stood before walking towards the place the girl was standing before getting slapped in the face by the ball.

The whistle sounded and the boys served once more. Katniss watched as Foxface bumped the ball high into the air. Then Clove ran forward and tapped the ball down.

It was Katniss's turn to serve.

She dribbled the ball for a moment before tossing the ball high up in the air, bringing it over the net with the slap of her hand. It drilled itself into the tiles before anybody could react.

"Wow, nice one, Katniss!" a girl she was unfamiliar with cheered her. And every other girl on the team nodded their heads and gave her thumbs up.

"Get your heads in the game!" Marvel yelled at his teammates from the other side.

Katniss served the ball once more and to her utmost disgust, Cato touched it, which allowed another boy to tap the ball over the net. The point went to them.

By the end of the game, the boys won 25-22, but that was okay. The girls seemed happy and jittery even though they lost.

"Excellent play out there, Katniss," Clove commented, pausing to take a quick chug from the water fountain. "You were on fire."

"Thanks, you were too."

The second half was the same, except the girls won this time, and they were jitterier than before.

Katniss changed from her uniform and slid into her regular jeans and tee before exiting the gym.

She spotted Cato standing by the trash bin on her way out, and they locked eyes for a moment, coolly staring at each other. He really had grown to be handsome, but his personality still made Katniss want to punch the living out of him.

She walked away before she could take out his teeth with a blow to his jaw.

** So Katniss still hates him, but don't worry, it won't stay like that for long.**

** There will be a lot of fluffiness and slow romance just to tell you guys, so if you like quick and fast romance-SORRY. I like to take my stories slow and build up their relationship before it gets to that point.**

** ALRIGHT THEN. Thank you all for reading and I'll see you next time when Chapter Three comes out! Buh-bye! **


	3. Chapter 3: Nightmare

**Thank you all for your patience and time~**

**Reading your reviews and comments just make my day. Oh, and to Strawberryluv: I'm liking the idea of a prank. Maybe when the stressful mood dies down, later in the story I might add that. I might use it, or might not. So far, I think I will. I won't promise anything though. Thanks for reviewing!**

**BUT everyone else's ideas are just as great and creative as well. THANK YOU ALL!**

**And now, without further ado~ CHAPTER THREE!**

CHAPTER THREE

Katniss was walking towards the buses that afternoon. Absentmindedly, she kicked along a fallen acorn with her toes. When it rolled away, she sighed and continued forward, hand wrapped around the strap of her backpack.

The first day of school wasn't all like the nightmare she believed it would be. In fact, she had some sort of fun if it weren't for Cato's presence all day long.

She promised herself the moment she gets home she'll take a nice warm shower to clear her thoughts, but her plan was cut short when a shadow suddenly darkened her vision.

She looked up, eyes narrowed at the Coach from fifth period. There was a long silence, until Katniss realized that Coach Meyer was waiting for her to speak. "Yes?" she said rather impatiently.

"Everdeen, follow me," she spoke in a gruff voice.

Katniss looked pointedly at the buses already with running engines and Coach waved her hand dismissively, "I'll drive you home, just hear me out."

Katniss was suspicious, but curiosity won her over as she followed Coach Meyer down the field towards the track. Katniss soon learned when they stepped foot on the brownish red pavement that Coach was the kind who cut to the chase. "I saw you running on the warm-up today," she began.

Katniss nodded and Coach continued, "You're good. For a rookie." She said that last sentence almost like an afterthought.

"I was captain of my previous track team." Despite the casualty of that sentence, it sounded defensive, even to her own ears.

Coach didn't seem to mind though. She even nodded her head at that. "Good, good. We need someone like that on our team."

Katniss stopped walking and looked up at Coach. "What?"

Coach stopped as well to face her. "I'm saying that you should join track. We're leading the county good but one of our best runners just dropped out." She shrugged her shoulders. "If we don't find another in time we might as well be dog meat to other teams."

"And what if I don't want to?" Katniss asked bluntly. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the buses begin to pull away.

Coach shrugged her shoulders once more and raised her hands as if to say, "What can I do about it?" And that was exactly what she said, but she continued, "However, if you join I guarantee there might be a scholarship ahead of you. What are you? Junior? Senior?"

"Junior," Katniss spoke, but she continued, "I don't plan on going to college anyway."

At this, Coach Meyer raised her eyebrows. "That might've been the most stupid thing I've ever heard in my life, next to all the other stupid things kids say nowadays." Katniss remained silent. "Everdeen, tell me. Why do you go to school?"

"To learn." It was obvious.

"And why…?" Coach prodded on.

She was baiting Katniss, but Katniss would take none of it. "I've already decided to not go to college. If you want me to join, fine, but don't go and try to talk me into university." Money was already tight in the Everdeen household, and even if she had a scholarship it was near to impossible that she would be able to pay for the tuition there.

"So you're saying you'll join?"

Katniss was silent for a moment, finding a sudden interest in the fence dividing the school from the streets. "I don't know," she found herself saying, and immediately afterwards, Coach sighed.

"Alright then. I guess I can't pry it into you, but think about it, at least." Katniss only nodded. "You still want a ride home, Everdeen?"

She shook her head. "My house is only a few blocks away. I guess I can walk."

Coach gave a firm, tight-lipped smile. "Good. You need to stay in shape before the season." She already took Katniss as another member even though she hadn't given the coach her thoughts yet.

Katniss decided to let the Coach hope and not rain on her parade, even though it was almost certain she wouldn't be joining. She only offered a wave before turning and starting off into the direction of her home.

She didn't know the roads well enough yet, so she had trouble navigating her way back to her household, but that was alright. It gave her time to think anyway.

Katniss walked along the side of the road silently, engrossed in her own thoughts.

Even if she did join, what good will that do? It'd only be a waste of her time, since she already decided going to college won't help her home life at all. There was still Prim, who dreamt since she was a child living in a dormitory at one of those schmancy universities. If Katniss went to college instead, she might as well have killed Prim's dreams.

And then there was her mom. Ever since her father's death her mom had been particularly closed off, only speaking to them when she needed to. And even if she did try to strike up conversation, it'd turn out tense and awkward, leaving no room for any comfort a home should bring. Katniss was like the mother of the family now, looking over the two of them as if the mother was the child here. If she left who knew what Prim would have to go through at this hell of a home?

Somehow, even if she wasn't paying attention, her feet guided her to the driveway of her house. She dug out her key from her back pockets and opened the door.

Prim was already seated at the kitchen table when she arrived. "You weren't on the bus today, Katniss," Prim told her when she dropped off her backpack on the couch, "and you're late. Is something wrong?"

"Not at all," Katniss replied, moving to take the seat next to Prim, "Coach Meyer wanted me to stay after to talk about some things."

"Like what?" Prim curiously asked even though her eyes were on her notebook.

"Track." At this, Prim cracked a smile. "But I'm not going to join."

Prim raised an eyebrow. "Why not, Katniss? I think it's a wonderful idea."

Katniss was silent at this, and she watched as Prim returned to sketching a Venn diagram on her blank piece of paper. "What's that for?"

"Hmm?" Prim absentmindedly asked. After closing the second oval, she then explained, "We're working on comparing two different things in English right now. I'm choosing a blanket and home."

Katniss forced back a chuckle, but a small smile appeared on her face. "And how do those compare?"

"Exactly." Prim turned to grin at Katniss. "That was how the class reacted when Mr. Belinsky said to compare work and candy."

Honestly, Katniss could not care less, so she ruffled Prim's hair and said, "I better get to work on my homework too. Come ask me if you need any help with anything."

"Okay."

Katniss left the kitchen and grabbed her backpack before heading up the stairs. It creaked under her feet with every step.

Her boxes and luggage were not yet unpacked, but she disregarded them as she headed over to her desk. She set down her backpack at the foot of it and rummaged through a few boxes before finally pulling out her laptop.

She set it down on the table and sat down. Clove and her were partnered together for an essay in English Literature. She told her to go on her Skype the moment she got home.

It was almost laughable about how long Clove waited, so when she finally logged in, Clove's angry face was up in the screen. "Where were you?" she screamed into the speaker.

Katniss apologized curtly before saying, "Coach Meyer held me up a bit."

Clove blinked before sighing and leaning back against her seat. "It's about track, isn't it?" Katniss raised her eyebrows questionably and she continued, "Coach Meyer's been nagging every kid, no matter if they're good or not to join." She was quick to change the subject though, because then she leaned around the webcam to check out her bedroom. "Whoa, is that you're house?"

Almost self consciously, Katniss turned to stare at it. The walls were cracked and dark gray that led up to the ceiling, a plain white that looked like it would collapse at any second. The carpets were stained with whoever knows what and smelt of wet paint.

"Yeah."

"Wow, that's crappy," Clove commented bluntly. "You couldn't take back your old house?"

"We couldn't afford it," Katniss answered before sighing and moving on, "Anyway, let's get on with our essay." She made a point by picking up her notebook and flipping to an empty page. But when she looked up, Clove was still shifting uncomfortably in her seat.

Katniss stared at her and then sighed, "What's the matter?"

Clove fingered a pencil in her hand and twirled it, a habit she had whenever stressed or nervous. "Katniss answer honestly," she said, but she didn't continue.

"Okay," Katniss said suspiciously.

Clove paused for a second before speaking, "My parents told me about your bully, when you were younger."

Immediately, Katniss's eyes darkened and she looked down at her notebook. Her hand squeezed the pencil so tightly it was on the brink of breaking. "And?" Her voice was hard and steely.

Clove took a deep breath before continuing, "I asked my mom today, when I got home, what his name was. She said his last name was Ludwig." She stared intently at Katniss through the webcam. "Cato. Cato Ludwig."

Katniss was silent but that answered it all. Letting out a deep exhale, Clove leaned back against her chair. "All this time, I figured he was just another classmate. Now that I know he was your bully, I swear I'm going to-"

Katniss held up a hand to silence her. "What was in the past was in the past. I don't want to talk about it." Clove was quiet. "Let's just move on to our essay."

Hesitantly, Clove obliged and the two began to split the work, but Katniss's mind was clouded with her discovery, and clearly, so was Clove's.

"This isn't working," Katniss finally declared, closing her notebook with a snap, "We'll work on this tomorrow during lunch."

Clove didn't seem to mind. "Okay."

Without another glance, Katniss closed the lid of her laptop, instantly cutting off the connection before she stood. She began to walk back and forth in the room, trying to clear her thoughts as she nibbled on her finger nails, a bad habit she picked up.

This was a problem. Clove wasn't a gossip like Madge was, but whenever she didn't know the answer to something, she had to talk to someone, no matter who they are. It could be another student Katniss did not know.

Numbly, she walked over and picked up her toiletries. If she's stressed, the only answer was to take a nice long shower.

Katniss stepped out of the door and headed towards the bathroom across the hall, but an exchanging of words made her stop. She strained her ears to find out who the voices were, and picked out her mother. The other was unknown.

She immediately put down her stuff on the nearest table and headed over to the stairs, where she fled down to find a man in a business suit with a stern look on his face.

Her mother heard her footsteps and looked up. "Oh, Katniss. This is Seneca Crane. He's our insurance manager."

"Nice to meet you," the man told Katniss even if the words were like ice.

Katniss watched him through cautious eyes, and her mother tried to hurry the conversation, "Seneca said he needed to speak with us…?" The words trailed off until they weren't directed at Katniss anymore.

"Ah, yes." The man ran a hand over his slicked back, gelled hair. "Well, you see, Mrs. Everdeen-"

"Miss," her mother corrected, ignoring the hard look she received from her daughter, "It's Ms. Everdeen."

"Alright then, _Ms_. Everdeen." The words were spoken a bit harshly, as though he couldn't believe that she corrected him about that small use of words. Katniss didn't. "There's a problem concerning the house you are currently residing in."

"Problem? What problem?" Her mother was on full alert now, and at that exact moment, Prim decided to enter the picture.

"Mom?"

"Honey, I can't talk right now."

Prim pursed her lips and Katniss put an arm around her shoulders, squeezing it for reassurance.

"It seems," Seneca said, disregarding the cool way she brushed off her own daughter, "that there's an issue."

"With what? Our home?" her mother demanded, a look of worry crossing her face.

"I'm afraid so." The woman heaved a sigh and Seneca continued, "This house is nearly a hundred years old. At any moment at any time of day the entire thing could collapse."

Katniss remembered the creaky staircases and the cracked walls. Somehow his words didn't seem very surprising. Uncalled for, but not surprising.

"So what are you saying? That we leave?" The words were meant as a joke, but he apparently, didn't take it as one.

"I was about to get to that." Her mom continued to stare at him through incredulous eyes as he smoothed down his suit and continued, "You see, Ms. Everdeen, if the roof does happen to collapse, you're due to court to answer the charges that your home is an unsafe and unlivable environment. If you happen to decide fixing the roof, you're charged with more debt than you already are in. And if your home is absolutely demolished, there's nothing I can do about the mortgages and property taxes. The money is still owed either way."

They were all silent for a while, taking this in. Then her mother spoke, "But my roof hasn't collapsed yet."

"It will soon, I guarantee it." Those last words seemed to be more motivational than pitiful. But Seneca continued, "If you don't move out I'm afraid I'll have to take this to the court personally."

"Wait, wait, so you're just going to give us the boot?" Her mom's voice rose to a yell and Seneca took a deep breath, holding up his hand to silence her.

"I'm only doing what I believe is best for your family and your future. If you move out it is sure that you don't have to suffer the consequences of your demolished home."

"But we have nowhere else to go!"

"And I'm afraid I cannot do much about that. I suggest renting an apartment for the time being until you settle into another house. If you don't have any more questions or complaints, I will take my leave." He made a point that he did not want to talk anymore by turning around back to the opened door. "Good evening." Then he left with a quiet click of the door.

The three were silent for a minute, frozen like statues in place. Katniss wasn't sure what to say or do. Should she leave? Should she stay? Should she get out of the house like she was told to do?

Finally, her mother ran a swift hand through her hair and walked to the kitchen.

Prim looked up at Katniss through sad eyes and Katniss spoke, "Go upstairs, Prim. Leave this to me." She looked hesitant, but after a moment, left for the stairs.

Katniss took a deep breath and smoothed down her jeans before walking to the kitchen. Her mother was standing there, staring blankly at the surface of the counter as she drummed on it with her hand.

Katniss couldn't help but admit she was scared-scared of what her mother would do if she said the wrong words at the wrong time.

"Mom?"

She didn't look up. Katniss weaved to the other side of the small island and at that moment her mother let out a deep breath. "I'm already knee deep in debt. What am I going to do? We have nowhere else to go."

Katniss stared at her, searching her worn and tired face for any signs of comfort, but found none. "Go upstairs and pack your things. We're leaving tomorrow." It was a split-second decision, but Katniss knew better than to argue and turned without another word and left the kitchen.

All of this felt like a dream that she was bound to wake up from, but she knew it wasn't, and no matter how many times she pinched her arm, she wasn't going to wake up from this nightmare.

**Unfortunately, there was no Cato and Katniss interaction but there will definitely be in the next chapter. Just you wait :D**

**Now that summer is coming to an end I'm afraid my updates are going to be less frequent but NOT TO WORRY, I will not drop this story or Heart of Steel. **

**THANKS FOR READING! See you when chapter four comes out!**


	4. Chapter 4: Turned To Hell

**Thank you all for reviewing this story. It means a lot!**

**I'm sorry that this chapter is short. The next chapter will be longer though. It just seemed like a suitable place to stop until Chapter Five comes out. Thank you for reading and please enjoy CHAPTER FOUR!**

CHAPTER FOUR

"So they just kicked you out?"

Katniss pressed the phone against her ear and sighed as she packed up her things and prepared to bring them out where the movers will deliver them to her new house. "Yeah."

"Do you have a place to stay?"

"Yeah," Katniss repeated.

Clove was silent for a moment, and then she spoke, "I can talk my mom into letting you guys stay with us. After all your mom's her sister."

"No need," Katniss dismissed with complete monotone as she swung over her bag. "My mom said that some old college friend of hers heard and is offering us a place to stay."

She didn't hear anything from the other line for a long moment, and then Clove spoke, "Well then, when you get there, tell me the address and I'll come over so we can hang out. Sound good?"

"That's fine."

When Clove hung up, Katniss tucked the phone into her pocket and sighed before lifting the first box and bringing it downstairs. Then she did it to the second one. She went back and forth for a long time until she was sure she'd burned enough calories for the day.

. .

"Are you ready?" her mother asked her daughters as they grabbed their remainder of items. The movers were steadily loading the last of their boxes and were ready to leave.

Katniss stared after them and let out a short sigh. She stepped into her shoes and headed towards the van into the backseat without question.

Her mother stepped into the rented house for another close inspection before stepping outside and locking the door. Prim was already in the passenger seat when she got in.

"Alright," her mother sighed to herself as she revved the engine. They were on the road before Katniss could blink.

They drove silently. The house wasn't far, only thirty minutes away, but Katniss still dozed off. She could barely keep her eyelids open and she guessed it wouldn't hurt if she nodded off for only a few minutes.

The few minutes turned into the entire ride there. When she woke up, her mother and Prim were unbuckling themselves and opening the car doors. Katniss wasn't wearing her seatbelt. She must've forgotten.

She was laid horizontally in the seats, with her upper back and head leaned against the car door. She groaned and sat up, smoothing down her hair which had remained in its perfect braid, before stepping out of the car.

Her mother was walking up to a kind looking woman who had her arms open in opening. They hugged for a long time while Prim stood aside in awkwardness. Then the woman hugged her.

Katniss was too far away to hear what they were saying, but it sounded warm and friendly. Her mother smiled a smile she hadn't seen in what felt like her entire life.

Katniss stared for a moment before opening the trunk of the car and digging around for her other items.

"Oh, and you must be Katniss!" the woman happily said as she hopped over on those ridiculously high heels of hers. "It's so nice to meet you!" The woman was relatively pretty, with long blond hair and that tight kind of skin you'd only see on aged women. Her eyes were a warm brown, a complete opposite of her distant gray eyes.

She seemed younger than her mom, which was saying a lot since her mother was already in her forties. But underneath that nice thin layer of makeup, she was sure to be older.

"My name is Esme," the woman introduced herself. To her mom, she commented, "You have such beautiful children, Tina. I'm so jealous!"

"Oh no, your son and daughter looked so charming in the pictures," her mom replied and Esme smiled.

"I'll call them out, so don't worry. They'll take your stuff in. And that reminds me"-she turned to mom-"the movers came a few minutes shy before you. They've already taken your stuff into the house."

"Wonderful," her mother said.

"Now come, come, we have much to catch up on!" Esme happily took Prim's hand and guided her mother into the gigantic three-story home. Along the way, Katniss heard her say, "Do you like cookies?" And then her voice faded.

Katniss stared after them, and then found her eyes drifting upwards at the house. It looked gigantic compared to the one Katniss lived in the past day. The walls were a smooth white, not the bumpy bricks she had. It looked almost like a mansion, with the iron gates and cobblestone steps leading up to the large double doors.

She turned away and sighed as she grabbed her things from the trunk. She pulled out her heavy luggage, and then her younger sister's.

She pulled up the slipping shoulder bag and moved to close the trunk door, when it closed for her. She stopped, pursing her lips and preparing to turn to glare at the person, only to find herself frozen in place.

Her eyes unwillingly widened and her hand almost loosened its grip on her luggage.

It was him, the boy who's bullied her since the second grade. It couldn't be. It couldn't possibly be him she's going to be sharing this house with for the rest of her high school life. But there was no other boy around that the owner of this house sent. There wasn't a single doubt about it.

It was Cato.

**Major shock. I know.**

** I was thinking at first to send her to Clove's house, but then I was like: I've gotta get more Catoniss in. And the only way to do that was to have her move into his house! Plus it would be more exciting.**

** I'm still taking suggestions, if you guys have any. Don't be shy. We're all lovers of writing here. Review, favorite, follow…etc. **

** Thanks for reading and I hope to hear from you all next time! Bye!**


	5. Chapter 5: Choices To Make

**HELLO! Sorry for the long wait! I had a really busy week! **

**Yeah, yeah, I know. No excuses…**

**But now you're waiting will have to wait because here is CHAPTER FIVE!**

CHAPTER FIVE

Katniss's POV:

I stared at him for a long time, as if doing so would somehow make him morph into an entirely different person, yet here he was.

He stood cockily slouched, hands stuffed into his pockets as he coolly stared at me.

I frowned, forcing my hand to grab the handle of my luggage. Then I squared my jaw and turned around, where I stalked back to the house.

"Need help?" he asked me.

I paused briefly before continuing on and not bothering to answer.

It was difficult rolling the luggage up the steps but I managed. It was the best I could do under the penetrating stares Cato was giving me behind my back.

I opened one of the doors and stepped inside, kicking off my shoes as I went.

Mother and Prim and that other lady were seated at the living room, along with another man who I did not recognize. It was clear though, with those cool blue eyes he had to be Cato's father.

"Oh, Katniss come on and sit down!" Esme happily called her over. I stared at her for a moment. She had the same honey blond hair as Cato, and that wickedly tall height. Even though she was a woman, those small things reminded me too much of him.

I shrugged off my backpack and took the seat farthest from them all. I was aware of Cato's gaze, and everyone else's, but I avoided them as I stared down at the coffee table.

Esme cleared her throat and began to speak again. Everyone immediately joined into the conversation, but I detected a voice that wasn't a part of it other than mine.

I looked over at Cato and saw his eyes on me. I narrowed mine and glared back coolly, and he did the same.

But why? What right was it that he could dare try and stare me down when I did nothing wrong? He was the one who bullied me and scarred me for life when I was younger. I wasn't the one who tormented him.

I squared my jaw and raised my chin high and turned away from him just as the father of the family grunted and said, "There's my girl."

A short girl appeared and bounded over to him, and my mother gave a small smile.

She was tiny, almost like a bird, with curly brown hair that framed her caramel-dark skin. Her eyes were wide and brown, like a doe, and no matter how much I looked at her, she reminded me of nature.

"Tina, Prim, Katniss, this is Rue," Esme introduced.

"It is a pleasure to meet you," Rue spoke, and Mother gave a short laugh.

"How polite! Prim, she's your age. Why don't you talk with each other?" Mother suggested. Prim nodded and stood. The two introduced themselves once more before leaving the room.

"We adopted her from an African orphanage," Esme explained shortly. "She was a baby at the time, and now she's grown so much."

"She's a lovely child," Mother said.

Esme nodded before turning to Katniss. Everyone's eyes followed. "And you must be the same age as Cato, correct?"

Katniss stared at her for a moment before giving a short nod.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Esme cheered, clasping her hands together. "It's a shame you two don't go to school together."

"We go to school together," Cato corrected his mother and she blinked, staring at him.

"Really?" she asked. "That's great!"

I sighed and looked up at my mom, but she was all smiles, not even the slightest bit aware of whom he was, the boy from my past.

She soon felt my eyes on her and turned to look at me questionably, but I broke off the gaze. I knew she was still watching, but I ignored her as Esme continued to make small talk. It was clear that she was trying to keep up the liveliness of the room and ease the tension, but without her knowing, it had already built.

Soon, both Mom's and Cato's eyes were on me, and I could only take so much.

"Tired," I spoke.

Esme stopped and turned, "Yes?"

"I'm tired," I repeated, meeting her eyes. "I want to sleep."

Mother's gaze turned hard and soon she was giving me warning glares, but Esme didn't seem that much disturbed. "Oh, right, right. Cato, please show her to her room."

I wanted everything more than him show me the way, but I knew I couldn't refuse. I grabbed my bag and slung it over my shoulder before standing.

I walked to the staircases before he could and started my way upwards. He followed me to the top and I stopped to wait for him.

I crossed my arms and sighed as he took the lead and lead me down the hall towards two doors. He opened the door on the far right and I stepped inside.

The room was spacious, larger than my previous one. It appeared to have a balcony, draped over with thin purple curtains. The theme of the room seemed to be of purple as well. It might as well have exploded with purple feathers.

I didn't like it, but I did not complain.

I dropped my bag on the bed and turned to close the door, but Cato was still standing there.

I took a step back before I could bump into him and looked up with a hard and steely glare. "What?" I demanded icily.

"Aren't you going to thank me?" he asked.

I clenched my teeth to keep from yelling and stared up at him with a glare my father would've been proud about. "You did what you had to do. Why should I thank you?"

He didn't seem to back down, and he stared right back at me.

I frowned at him and closed the door on his face before he could reply. My eyes fell downwards and landed on the doorknob, and for extra measure I locked the door.

The moving boxes were in the corner of the room, so I walked over and picked up the first one on top.

Inside were all of my personal items and books, and slowly, one by one, I picked them up and stacked them on the pink and purple book shelves screwed into the wall above the bed.

I continued to unpack all of my things; folding my clothes and hanging them up in the closet.

When I finally finished, it looked like a blend of girly and punk. My stuff contradicted the girly theme entirely; not that I cared.

I fished out new undergarments and my towel before opening the door and stepping outside. After all, today was a Thursday, which meant I still had to attend school.

I glanced at the clock that read the numbers 7:30. Looks like I didn't have any time to nap. I had only thirty minutes left to get ready, if that meant being there on time.

I walked around for a moment, wandering and hoping that somehow I would stumble upon the bathroom.

And I did. Five minutes later.

Annoyed, I closed the door and turned on the shower.

I realized I've lost track of time a few minutes in, but remembering that this was the tub Cato would bathe in, I quickly turned it off and stepped out of the tub, feeling dirty all over again.

I dried myself off and pulled on a fresh batch of clothes before opening the door.

I dropped off my dirty clothes into the hamper before packing up my school items and heading downstairs. Cato was already at the door when I arrived, impatiently frowning at me. I challenged his expression with a glare.

"Oh, you're ready, Katniss! Come, sit down and eat!" Esme happily suggested.

"I'm not hungry," I said curtly to her.

Esme looked for help at my mother, but she continued to eat her pancakes as if there was no problem. "Leave it, Esme. She's a light eater, I tell you."

"But Katniss hasn't eaten at all yesterday!" Prim argued, and Esme's eyebrows rose.

"Really?" she asked before quickly hurrying to put down the plate of pancakes. "Come, Katniss! You must eat!"

(Katniss's POV)

Katniss glared at the food, then at her.

Her mother returned the glare but forcefully softened it when she realized everyone's eyes had turned to her. "Now, now, Katniss. Eat your food."

"What part of I'm not hungry, do you not get?" Katniss demanded before putting on her boots and marching out the door.

The door slammed shut behind her, and she didn't bother turning around as she fumed, walking on.

She took long strides, her hand clutching the strap of her backpack so tightly her knuckles might as well popped out from underneath the skin.

"What got you pissed?"

It was that same line again.

Katniss slowed to a stop and turned around to see Cato. She had marched completely past him without acknowledging it.

Cato's hands were shoved into his pockets, and he walked forward, straight towards her.

Immediately, her defensive walls were up as she glared at him, daring him to come any closer. But he did, right past her.

She stared after him in surprise, then disbelief. She shouldered her backpack firmly and continued on.

Only moments later, a red convertible pulled up against the curb. Katniss stopped to watch as Cato swung off his backpack and hopped into the backseat.

Then the car spun and pulled away before Katniss could see the driver's face.

She stared after its license plate as it drove down the street, leaving her shuffling along in the dust in silence.

Katniss arrived to school ten minutes late, but she didn't care. She continued on in silence, passing PE students in their gym clothes jogging around the track.

She made a turn to head into the building, but a hand clasped her on the back and she stopped and turned around.

Coach Meyer stood there, in her purple jog suit, a clipboard in her hand as she gave Katniss a once-over. "Doesn't look like you're in the right clothes for track, Everdeen."

Katniss exhaled deeply and held the strap of her backpack. She didn't want to have to deal with this in the morning. "What makes you think I agreed?" Katniss simply said.

Coach opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to think against it and placed her hands on her hips. "Let me tell you this, Everdeen; we need runners. It's been two weeks since our previous member dropped out."

"And what am I supposed to do?" Katniss asked, frowning deeply.

The answer was obvious but Katniss remained stoic, daring to stare up at the teacher.

Coach Meyer met her gaze and spoke, "You remind me of him. Yes, you'd be an excellent replacement."

"And who is this him?" Katniss asked. Other than Cato the second thing she hated the most was being compared and contrasted with some person she did not know.

But apparently she knew him.

"His name his Cato." Katniss's eyes flashed with realization. "I take it you know him?"

Katniss was silent, staring off into the field where a few students were laying, gasping for breath as they stared up at the sky.

"Ah," Coach Meyer said, "So you do know him? What? You another one of his fan girls? His followers? Or perhaps you're his-"

"I suggest you do not jump to conclusions," Katniss icily said, bitterly adding the word, "Coach," at the end after some thought.

Coach Meyer frowned and took a deep breath, ready to chastise her when Katniss said, "Fine."

"Fine, what?"

She also hated repeating herself. Well, this was a cruddy morning for her.

She let her irritation show as she spoke, "Fine, I'll join your track team."

A slow smile stretched across Coach Meyer's face as she nodded. "Excellent choice, Everdeen. For a moment there I thought you were gonna pass."

Katniss was. But when Coach mentioned that boy's name something just sparked inside of her. It was the need of doing something. The need to beat this boy at the one thing he did best.

Other than ruining other people's lives.

** Doesn't look like Katniss is taking a liking to her new house, eh?**


	6. Chapter 6: Wounds

**YAY! A long chapter! Phew, that was a while. Sorry, guys.**

**There might be some mistakes. Too tired to proofread-bleh. **

**But FIRST! Good news (for my readers of Heart of Steel) the next chapter is almost finished and should be uploaded in the next couple of days! The story itself is almost complete so I want to thank you all for making this far with me and bearing my unsophisticated writing style!**

**But no matter and on with the story!**

CHAPTER SIX

"What's that on your arm?"

They were sitting in English Literature when Madge spoke.

Katniss immediately tensed up, aware of the group's eyes suddenly on her arm. She uncomfortably pulled down the sleeve of her shirt to cover it up.

"It's nothing," she said.

"Oh, come on!" Madge said, reaching over to inspect her elbow. "It's like a wicked scar! Where'd you get it from?"

Katniss was silent and Clove watched her cousin intently, waiting for an answer. After a few seconds, the group was sure to have become suspicious, and Clove decided to answer, "Katniss was a major klutz when she was younger. She doesn't like talking about it because it makes her seem stupid."

"That's surprising!" Foxface said, looking over at Katniss. "You seemed really awesome in PE yesterday and not a klutz at all."

"Oh, she was a klutz," Clove spoke with a sly grin, "She was as clumsy as any person could get." A warning kick from Katniss beneath the table made Clove yelp. Everyone stared curiously at her, and she covered it up, "Haha, well I guess I shouldn't talk about it anymore."

The group suspected nothing of her strange lies and turned to continue their chat once more. Meanwhile, Clove turned to stare at Katniss, and feeling her gaze, her eyes shot up, dangerously meeting hers.

Immediately Clove's eyes narrowed and her eyebrows lifted as if to say, "We'll speak about this later," in the spot of silence.

Katniss gritted her teeth and sighed, looking away just as the class started.

It dragged on for what appeared like a millennium, but Katniss was okay with it. She wanted anything but to explain to Clove.

But alas, the class ended and Katniss packed quicker than usual, wanting to bolt from the room with the rest of the class, but a hand hooked onto her elbow, and she stopped to turn. Clove stood there, eyes hard as their friends left the room. The teacher quickly packed her items and left the shared classroom.

"That scar," Clove finally said after a moment, "It's from Cato isn't it?"

Katniss said nothing, and neither did Clove. Finally, she shrugged off her hand. "You said it yourself," Katniss said, "I don't like talking about it."

She moved to leave, but Clove grabbed her arm once more, and she glared at her hand until she dropped it at her side. Clove opened her mouth to speak, but seeing the hard look she was receiving form Katniss, she finally sighed in defeat and ended up saying, "You said that we needed to work on our English essay. Mrs. Effie gave us an extension."

Katniss knew that Clove wanted to say more, but she just nodded and turned, leaving for the cafeteria. She arrived at the table silently, almost like a ghost. Nobody noticed her presence until Glimmer turned and jumped when she saw Katniss seated next to her. "Whoa! You scared me! You were like a ghost!" she exclaimed.

Katniss said nothing and the rest of the table turned back around to begin eating. A few seconds later, Clove appeared. She took the spot across from Katniss, worriedly giving her looks that she disregarded coolly.

"Hey, you guys want to see something cool?" Marvel asked. A few mumbles were heard before Marvel turned to Peeta. "Hey, flick me a grape on your spoon."

"What?" Peeta asked, obviously as confused as everyone else was.

Marvel rolled his eyes. "Come on, dude."

Peeta looked unsure, but he picked up his plastic spoon and loaded in a green grape before flinging it at his face.

Marvel's mouth was open, ready to catch it, but it ended up sailing straight at his forehead, bouncing off and into his soup.

The table was silent as they took in Marvel's gaping fish face. Then Peeta started to snicker, and then Foxface. Soon, everyone at the table was laughing, except for Katniss.

"You fail!" Madge laughed.

Marvel's face was flushed, but he grinned cheekily.

Unknown to them, a couple tables away sat Cato and two other boys.

The tallest one, Finnick, absentmindedly waved his fork in the direction of Katniss. "New girl. Cute isn't she?"

Cato turned and blinked in surprise when he realized Finnick was referring to Katniss. Cato chewed his pizza slowly before swallowing. "I've seen better."

"You kidding, man?" Gale, who was seated next to him, said.

Cato said nothing, knowing the two were right but not wanting to admit it.

"She could be your cousin, Gale," Finnick commented.

"Yeah right," Gale said, "Is it because of our looks?"

"Sure," Finnick muttered before saying, "I heard that that small pixie girl was her real cousin though."

"No way. They look nothing alike!"

"I know right?"

"You two sound like gossiping old ladies," Cato told the two.

They glared at him.

Back at Katniss's table, Glimmer smacked her arm excitedly. "Guys, guys," she whispered hurriedly, "I think Cato's looking this way!"

"No way, why would they-Oh." Madge stopped and turned to see that the three guys were all staring in their direction.

Katniss turned to look and her gaze was instantly locked with Cato's. They both stared at each other for a minute dangerously, and then Cato turned to his lunch once more. The two others did as well.

"Did you see that? He was totally looking at me!" Glimmer said excitedly.

"Oh, shut up, Glimmer," Madge said, "and eat your food."

She was still blushing scarlet when she began to eat again. Katniss felt penetrating eyes on her and looked up to see Clove looking at her. It was a worried look, and Katniss exhaled deeply, silent as she stared down at the table.

Meanwhile, the rest of the table chattered on. "So what are you going to wear tonight?" Madge asked Glimmer excitedly.

"Probably something that doesn't contain a bra," Marvel teasingly told her.

"One time! That was one time!" Glimmer said, her face red as she stared down at the table.

Madge continued to laugh, but seeing Katniss's confused expression, she explained, "There's a party tonight at my house. You should come!"

"I don't feel like going," Katniss said shortly.

"Oh come on! It's going to be epic!" Peeta joined in.

Katniss was not a very patient person and she frowned at them before standing and leaving the table, leaving a group of puzzled teenagers behind.

Later that day, around three, Katniss was standing, watching with her arms crossed as the people around stretched their legs and arms, ready to run laps.

Coach saw Katniss standing there as stiff as stone and went over to nudge her. "Everdeen, unless you want to collapse with cramps I suggest you start stretching those muscles."

Katniss said nothing and didn't even bother looking up as she watched everyone else jog in place.

"Alright!" Coach yelled loudly after blowing her whistle. "Three laps around the field! Let's move, move, move it!" People were already running when she said her first words.

Katniss waited a moment before sighing and starting to jog. Foxface offered her some clothes to wear for the day to change out of that sweater and tight jeans unsuitable for running.

"Alright, let's move it!" Coach yelled after them as they ran. "I need your skid marks! Run!"

Katniss was known as being the Girl on Fire, but she was tired, so she ended up last on the first lap.

"What's wrong, newbie?" a girl sneered as she passed her effortlessly. "Blood get to your head, already?"

She laughed, the sound of her nasally chortle disappearing ahead of her.

Thing was, Katniss didn't care. She didn't care about her comment nor that she was being particularly slow. Maybe, just maybe, if she did bad Coach would let her off the team and stop nagging her about joining.

But she had to beat Cato.

Her legs willingly picked up speed until they were a blur to everyone's eyes. She passed each member without a problem as she crossed over the white line, signaling the end of warm-ups.

"Good job, Everdeen," Coach Meyer said, peering over at her with a hint of gratitude. "We need you like that for the next cross country race."

Katniss didn't bother to answer as she looked over and watched as the remaining students came to a stop. They were all breathing heavily, bending over with their hands resting on their knees as they gasped for breath.

"Come on now. This is only the beginning!" the girl from before shouted as she jogged backwards.

She would've bumped into Katniss if she hadn't stepped out of the way. "Oops, sorry," she said sarcastically, "Did stepping on your toe give you a boo-boo?"

Katniss merely glared at her as Coach Meyer warningly said, "Johanna."

The girl, Johanna, merely raised her hands in mock defense as she backed away.

"Alright, everyone!" Coach Meyer said, her voice now raised to a yell, "We're heading towards the hurdlers. Sissy runners don't lag!"

Most had exasperated expressions, but didn't complain against this scary teacher as they jogged and followed her to the other side of the track.

For the next hour, they were constantly moving, never stopping even once to get a drink of water.

Katniss herself was exhausted, but she didn't complain or dare show it as she pulled to a stop at the end of the obstacles.

Coach Meyer watched from the side, continuously making marks onto her clipboard.

A moment later, Katniss found herself sprawled out onto the ground into a heap. She put her hands out to catch herself as she fell. Gritting her teeth, she pushed back the feeling of pain as she looked up.

Johanna looked smugly down at her for a moment but stopped when Coach's whistle shrilled. "What's going on over there?" her loud voice shouted.

In a minute, she was over. Her eyes looked at Katniss, then at Johanna, and then back down at Katniss. "You okay there, Everdeen?"

Katniss took an exasperated breath and pushed herself off the ground.

It was obvious. This girl, Johanna, had the nerve to trip her, but she didn't dare say it. It'd make her look weaker than she already did at the moment.

She brushed her hands against her thighs to wipe off the dirt and grass, but stopped when a sting shocked itself from her palm up to her arm. She forced back a wince as Coach Meyer's eyes fell downward to her hand.

"Oh, damn," she said, "your hand."

Katniss moved her arm behind her as she said the obvious.

"Let's take you to the nurse's office."

"I'm fine," Katniss bitterly said as she fearlessly wiped her hand against her t-shirt. Only after she did that did she remember it was Foxface's clothes.

"You're getting blood everywhere!" Coach said, grabbing her wrist to stop her. "That thing needs stitches, I tell you!"

Katniss thrust her hand out of Coach's grip and held her chin high, squarely challenging Johanna in the eyes. Johanna returned the gaze, but it was clear Katniss was more dominant.

A moment later, a couple of footsteps were heard and they looked over to see who it was.

It just had to be Cato.

Katniss immediately looked back down at her shoes as Cato spoke, "What happened?"

"Katniss tripped and landed on a rock. She probably needs to see the hospital," Coach explained.

She rolled her eyes at this and squared her jaw, knowing Cato was probably looking at her now or more specifically, her wound.

Without another word, he grabbed her other wrist and led her away.

Only until they were a few yards away, did she realize the situations. "Hey! What do you think you're doing?" she demanded as she was dragged along.

He didn't answer as he walked over to the other side of the parking lot. It was a sleek red convertible. The hood, however, was pulled up, which was reasonable since it was chilly outside.

Katniss recognized the car as the one that morning and frowned at him as he got into the driver's side. "This isn't your car," she said.

He glanced up at her. "So what if it isn't?" he asked. "She won't care if I take it."

Katniss wanted to ask who this 'she' was, but didn't and simply stared at him as he impatiently watched her. Then he sighed and looked back out the windshield. "You getting in or not? Or do you want me to open the car door for you?"

Katniss stare turned into a glare. He waited a moment later before flicking his eyes over and sighing, "Honestly." Then he reached over and pushed open the door. It swung open, narrowly missing her. "Come on. Get in."

Katniss was skeptical and a little annoyed, but pushing that aside, she got into the car.

"Try not to get any blood on the cushions," he said as he revved the engine. Then they were off.

A long silence passed and neither of them uttered a word, and seemed to have no intention of starting one. It was broken when a sudden damp white towel was thrown her way.

She glowered when it hit her lap.

"Press it against your cut. It'll stop the bleeding," he said, "Momentarily." It was added in the end almost like an afterthought.

"Why do you care?" she asked. Seeing his look, she sighed and spoke, "And why were you at practice? I don't need you to baby me over this stupid cut."

"Mother was having a panic attack on the phone when you didn't come home," he said coldly, and Katniss wondered which mother he was referring to. "So she sent me back to school to get you." He looked over when they stopped at the red light. "You happy? You made me walk twenty-four useless blocks today." He sighed and looked back ahead of him, but Katniss remained silent.

What right did he have to say those words_? You made me walk twenty-four useless blocks today_. What a pathetic ass he had. Did walking kill him? And whose car was this anyway?

She sat stiff as stone, looking blankly out the window as they made a turn, entering the parking lot of the urgent care center.

They got out and Katniss wanted to bolt right on out of there, but he gave her a look that forced her to step through the automatic sliding doors and into the lobby.

A doctor passed by and opened his mouth to ask what their reason was being here, but he stopped the moment he saw her wound. Grim, he led the two of them to an isolated, empty white room.

The process went by quicker than she expected. They first cleaned the wound, all the while thanking Cato for so considerably helping her minimize the bleeding.

She rolled her eyes at this and simply watched as they began to sew her cut together. It was the first time she looked at it, which was saying a lot since nearly twenty minutes had passed. It was a jagged line, arching from the bridge between her thumb and forefinger all the way down to crescent of the ball of her palm.

She watched through bored eyes as the doctor pulled the long blue thread out from her skin.

From the side, though Cato did not show it, he was ready to bolt from the room. Still, he remained seated, watching as the doctor effortlessly sewed up the wound, and Katniss calmly letting him.

After an hour, the doctor finished writing notes into his notebook and spoke to them, "The total bill will roughly cost around a thousand, most likely more. With your insurance it's a better amount compared to other patients."

Those words made Katniss almost choke. A thousand? Where could she find that money?

"We understand," Cato spoke from the side. "Thank you for your time, doctor."

"No need. Just doing what I have to." It sounded a little rude judging by how you took it, and Katniss did take it that way. She coolly watched him and uttered quick thanks before following Cato out the door.

"Here's your doctor's note," Cato told her. "You won't be able to do track or any of those kind of stuff for ten days. Even after you take your stitches out, he suggested you keep it rested for a couple more."

It sounded incredibly pointless to Katniss, but she said nothing as he led her to the mysterious car and they were off once more.

Sitting in the same car as Cato was suffocating, and she cupped her chin in her right hand-the good one-and peered out the window.

Who knew that Cato-the bully from her past, would help her out on the one thing she didn't need any help with. Leave it to him to show up at the most useless of times.

Unwillingly, her gray eyes peeked over at him. His eyes were focused on the road straight ahead of him, but he apparently felt her eyes on him, because he glanced over and then back. "A scowl doesn't look nice."

She blinked and then frowned even further at him.

"If you scowl, other girls won't be jealous of your looks anymore." The words slipped from his mouth before he could stop him, and holding back a blush, he silenced himself.

Meanwhile, Katniss was shocked and a little embarrassed by his sudden bluntness. She did not dare let her emotions show as she slouched back against her seat. Did he just call her pretty?

No, he definitely could not have. This cruel tyrant and dangerous predator from her past calling someone like her pretty?

Of course, he didn't really say the words, but he might as well have.

The two settled into an uncomfortable and tight silence as they pulled into the driveway of their house. She never felt happier than to get into this unwelcomed home than she ever thought she would.

**I was blushing when I wrote this. Seriously.**

**Ha, so what's going to happen at Madge's party? I do not know. JUST KIDDING! Of course I know. It's you guys who don't. But you will, soon…I hope.**

**Okay well, thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful day wherever you are on this gigantic planet! Bye!**


	7. Chapter 7: Please Remember

**HI! Thank you for all of the reviews and favorites and follows! IT MEANS SO MUCH!**

**I hope that you have all had a wonderful day (I have)!**

**Please enjoy the newest chapter of this story and I hope you like it!**

CHAPTER SEVEN

Much to Katniss's distaste, when she stepped into the house, Esme was already there, hands resting against her hips firmly.

"Katniss Everdeen, where _have_ you been?" she asked as Katniss slipped off her shoes. "I was worried sick!"

"Mom, relax already," Cato mumbled as he kicked off his tennis shoes. Katniss glared when one landed on top of hers. "Katniss got a cut during practice and had to get stitches."

"Sti-Oh my!" Esme's eyes fell on the jagged blue stitches lining her palm. Uncomfortably, Katniss moved so that it was hidden behind her back. Then she saw the blood on her clothes. "Goodness, Katniss, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Katniss bitterly said as she tried to move around Esme to get to her room.

"Oh no you don't," Esme said, stopping her by stepping in her way. Katniss sighed. "Tell me what happened. From the beginning."

Katniss looked down at the ground, then at the ceiling, before finally meeting Cato's gaze. She frowned at him as though this was his entire fault before sighing, "I tripped."

Immediately, Cato's eyes narrowed but Esme did not notice. "Tripped?" she asked. "How?"

Katniss opened her mouth to spit something cold but Cato beat her to it, "Mom, she didn't trip."

Katniss immediately closed her mouth and frowned at him, as if daring him to go any further. Esme's eyes raised in a silent way to tell him to continue. "Johanna had tripped her purposefully on the field."

Katniss immediately glowered as Esme went into full mother bear. "Johanna? Do you mean that nasty girl with that unfeminine spiky haircut?" She didn't wait for Cato's response. "How dare she! That's completely childish and dangerous! Didn't she feel any remorse after injuring Katniss? Oh, I'm going right over to that school right now and demand for them to expel-"

"Mom," Cato interrupted. She stopped at the door, her hand hooked onto a jacket ready to leave. "You're the one who's being childish."

"Childish? What position are you in to call your mother-," Esme stopped when her eyes landed onto Katniss's arm once more, "Did she give that one to you too?"

"What?" Katniss asked, stony.

Before she could move her arm away, Esme stalked forward and hooked her hand onto her elbow, bringing it up so that they could all see the familiar harsh scar driving down the skin.

"It looks terrible!" Esme cried out. "Now I'm sure I'm going to have her expelled."

Katniss thrust her arm out of her grasp and scowled, "Enough. Forget about it." She tried not to meet Cato's eyes the entire time, but alas, she had to.

He just stood there, stoic as he watched her carefully, not the single bit reminded of the scar he gave her when she was younger.

Katniss squared her jaw and turned sharply before stomping up the staircases.

"Katniss!" Esme shouted after her, but Katniss kept on going.

Esme moved to follow her, but Cato stopped her. "Leave it, Mom. You heard her. She doesn't want you to tell."

"But it's completely-"

"Mom," Cato interrupted dangerously. Esme clenched her teeth together and looked doubtful, her eyes flickering between the keys in her hand and Katniss's retreating back before sighing and throwing the keys down on the couch with a sharp jingle.

"Alright, I get it," Esme muttered impatiently, "I'm going to go make dinner." Then she left the room silently, leaving Cato to sigh at his own misfortune.

"Katniss? Are you going to a party?"

Katniss looked up from her seated bed at Prim, who was peeking in from the doorway, with another face.

Sighing, she looked back down at her thumbs and mumbled, "No."

Prim slowly pushed open the door, and both her and Rue stepped inside. "Cato just left with a couple of his friends." Rue cocked her head to the side. "Are you going to go?"

"No," Katniss repeated.

Prim looked disappointed. "I told mom about it and she said it's fine if you want to-"

"Prim," Katniss interrupted slowly, looking up to meet her eyes, "I'm not going."

Prim looked uncertain, turning to look at Rue, then back at Katniss.

"Prim, we should let your sister's hand rest," Rue spoke softly, dark doe eyes wide. Katniss watched her silently.

Prim bit her lower lip and opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to have thought against it because she then said, "I hope you heal soon, Katniss," before turning and leaving the door quietly.

Katniss watched her turn to go, before looking at Rue expectantly.

For a moment, the two of them were silent, and then Rue spoke, "You'll look pretty in a dress."

Stunned, Katniss could only watch as Rue, like a bird, hopped to her feet and disappeared out the door.

Katniss stared after the two, disbelief written in her eyes. Those two kids.

Katniss looked down at the palm of her hand and lifted the other to delicately trace the careful sewn blue strings. It looked as if they were two separate things, forced together into a tie only one person can break.

How come it reminded her about her situation?

Katniss sighed and dropped her hands, looking down at her phone. At any moment, Clove or Madge or one of the others would call her and remind her about the party. It would be pointless to talk them into not letting them go, but at the same time…

Katniss exhaled sharply and looked back at her wardrobe. She knew she didn't have a dress, or anything fancy to begin with. So why should she go?

Glaring, Katniss finally pushed herself to stand and leave the room to her mother's closet.

Twelve minutes in and she hasn't found much things fancy enough to stare at. After all, with her family in the crisis of debt nobody can really admire dresses displayed at the nearby Macy's.

Katniss became more irritated and frustrated the longer she stared at the array of clothes. She could easily just turn around and stomp right back to her bedroom. Which was exactly what she did. Or at least, planned to do.

A foot away from the exit, something caught her eye and she slowed to a stop. She reached over with a tentative hand and grasped the ever so crisp fabric of the black dress worn at her father's funeral.

A rush of sudden sadness overtook Katniss, stunning her for a second. There was no way she could wear this to a party. It held too much meaning, too much for crazy teens and beer. The party wasn't worth a dress like this.

She loosened her grip on it, but couldn't let it go. It was the only dress left. The one she had worn had grown too small, grazing barely past her mid thighs.

This one was the perfect length. A thin black material complimented the black under layer beneath it. It was too formal to be used for a party, but she could make it work.

Surprising herself, a minute later she found herself inside the dress, the black ruffles smooth against her neck.

She stared at herself in the mirror for a long time, before slowly slipping off the brown belt she wore that day and tying it around the waist of her dress. Then she pulled on a thin denim jacket. It looked good enough.

She paused mid way, however, wondering why she bothered. It wasn't like she cared for people's opinion anyway.

Katniss moved to take off the jacket, but then the door quietly opened, and Rue stepped inside. She saw Katniss standing there, frozen in the spot. Rue appeared shocked for a moment, and then a slow grin stretched across her face.

"I knew you'd look pretty," Rue softly spoke before smiling and shutting the door.

The words made Katniss stiff for a moment. The words made her feel fuzzy, an unfamiliar tingling in her stomach and a flush of her cheeks.

She looked back at herself in the mirror and finally saw what Rue said. Lost in the moment, she lifted the hem gently and turned to admire the back.

She guessed it wouldn't hurt, at least for a while to step out of the house.

She quietly opened the door and stepped outside, chest tight as she descended the staircases. At the bottom, she pulled on her white sneakers, not caring if they didn't match as she made her way for the door.

But then it opened.

Her mother stepped inside, her face long and worn as she slipped off her heels and dropped her purse on the table next to them. A few strands of blond hair fell loose from her bun, framing her old and tired face.

She moved to go upstairs, but stopped with a jerk when she saw Katniss.

Katniss stared back, biting her lower lip invisibly.

Her mom stared at her face before her eyes slowly traveled downwards, taking in the dress, the jacket, and her shoes.

She opened her mouth and drew out a long breath before tightening her lips and whispering, "You look nice."

Katniss could only stare. Somehow, her words didn't feel the least bit comforting as when Rue had said it-someone she did not know until this morning.

Her mother silently moved to pass her up the stairs, but Katniss reached out and stopped her, hooking a hand on her elbow. "Wait."

The word made her still, and slowly, she stepped back so she could make eye contact with Katniss.

She appeared to be waiting for a reason, so Katniss gave her one. "Do you not remember?"

"Remember…," her voice trailed off for a moment before coming back, "What?"

A flush of disappointment overwhelmed her, then anger, and then pure sadness. "Your daughter." The answer seemed too vague, and her mother stared at Katniss. "When she was seven years old-Don't you remember?"

The words slipped from her mouth like uncontrollable water, and she couldn't take them back. So she just stared as her mother knitted her eyebrows together in confusion and worry. "Did something happen when you were seven?"

That one question hurt more than Katniss thought it would. She knew it from the beginning though. Only her father would care. He'd be the one who put her on his lap and rock her, promising everything would be alright. The truth hit her like a brick.

Katniss turned and faced the open door, gritting her teeth and muttering, "Never mind."

She stepped forward in a point that she was leaving, but her mother would take none of it. This time, it was her who grabbed Katniss's elbow and held her back.

"What was it I should have remembered?" her mother demanded, her voice soft but firm.

Katniss turned and stared at her mother, searching her tired eyes for any sign, any way that would confirm she wasn't meaning what she was saying. That she actually remembered but wouldn't admit it.

But the longer Katniss stared, the more the truth settled in. Her mother did not remember.

Katniss roughly jerked her arm out of her grasp as if her mother's touch stung. And in a way, it did.

Then she rolled up the sleeve of her jacket and showed her the scar Katniss would stare at for days on end. Her mother looked at it as Katniss spoke, "So now? Do you know now? Do you know now after looking at this scar?" Her voice rose slightly with each word.

"I-I don't-" Katniss didn't want to hear any more.

She turned around sharply and marched out the door, into the refreshing cool air away from the wretched house. She stomped down the stone pathway and towards the curb, planning to continue on.

But something brought her to slow to a stop. She slowly, almost nervously, turned her head back to the open door, secretly hoping on the inside that her mother would run after her, yelling out that she did remember. She did remember that boy who tormented her since she was young.

But she didn't.

The door stayed ajar, open to anyone who wished to walk in or out.

But no one did. It stayed that way, and it was guaranteed that nobody was going to chase after her any time soon.

** Aw, poor Katniss. **

** I was really…IN the moment, when I wrote this. Some of you may be disappointed that there was no party in this chapter but there will be in the next one! Promise. It just seemed too rushed if I suddenly put in a party right after someone offered up for her to come. I wanted to make this story as realistic as possible.**

** SO to conclude, thank you all for reading and I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the day!**


	8. Chapter 8: Family Issues

**WHOO! Sorry for the long wait, you guys! I've been major busy these past few weeks!**

**Yeah, I know, excuses, excuses. Sorry!**

**But here's Chapter Eight! Thank you all for reading!**

CHAPTER EIGHT

Katniss arrived at the party late, but it wasn't like anybody noticed her arrival. They were all busy chattering amongst themselves, holding red plastic cups that could only hold one thing.

She made her way through the open doors of the large cream-colored home. Madge had texted her the address only moments ago, after the moment with her mother.

For a moment, she considered stomping back to her house and forgetting that she was ever invited, but she didn't want to face her mother. She planned to stay for at least an hour, until her mother was sure to have gone to bed, then she'd go home.

Uncomfortably, Katniss folded the flaps of her jean jacket together, avoiding the scenes of intimate couples lining the doorway.

The sound was loud, and it seemed as though everywhere she went, she'd bump into something, or someone. The trauma from when she was a child and shoved around went to full drive, and she quickly tried to push away the people.

She stumbled as if she was blind in the sea of teens, and she was on the brink of losing it when a hand grabbed her arm and she was yanked out of the group.

She quickly moved to push the holder away from her but stopped when she realized who it was. "Peeta?" she asked in the moment of shock.

"Yeah! You came!" he said with a toothy grin. "You look awesome!"

Katniss looked down at her dress and almost self consciously smoothed it out. "Thanks," she muttered after a moment.

"Come on!" he said, grabbing her arm once more. "All of our friends are in the kitchen!"

Only until he led her away from the jumping and dancing people did Katniss realize how big the house was. The ceiling had to be twenty feet high, the ground a sophisticated marble. It was almost as level as the house she was residing in right now.

"Katniss!" several people chorused at once as she entered the less crowded kitchen. Only a few people mingled around, either getting more drinks or standing around talking. The music was dimmer here too, so Katniss could hear better.

Glimmer patted the seat next to her and Katniss moved to sit down.

"You showed up!" she greeted.

Katniss nodded.

"Why are you here so late? It's like, ten o'clock already!"

"I was being held up," Katniss said quietly, not necessarily lying. Before she could stop herself, she murmured, "The music's quite loud."

"Haven't you forgotten?" Glimmer asked. "Madge's dad runs a music company!"

Oh, yeah. Madge might've mentioned that once before.

Madge nodded before her eyes fell on the lined stitches. "Whoa! Where'd you get that?" she exclaimed, earning everyone's attention.

Uncomfortable, Katniss moved so it was out of view and did her best to avoid Clove's penetrating gaze.

"Wicked! That's so cool!" Marvel said. Glimmer frowned at him.

"Seriously though, what happened?" Peeta broke in, leaning over to peek at her hidden scar.

Exasperated, Katniss sighed, "It's nothing, alright? I tripped."

"Again?" Foxface asked quizzically. "You got a scar from tripping with the one on your elbow too."

Katniss didn't say anything, knowing she was right. She can't use the same excuse over and over again.

Clove didn't like seeing her in situations like these, but she also didn't like how she kept on acting so closed off. She wasn't like this, or at least, back when Clove knew her. Her mom has always told her that Katniss was so different now, ever since her father died, but she didn't believe her. Seeing her in the spot like now though sure changed her perspective.

"I told you guys, she's a major klutz!" Clove said, grinning as she bounced her leg up and down beneath the table.

"I still don't believe it!" Madge spoke, and around the table others agreed. But they didn't seem that much concerned anymore.

They asked Katniss more about her scar before giving up and resuming their talk.

The conversation broke apart when a loud and certainly most embarrassing grumble split straight through the music and their conversation.

"Holy fu-" A glare from Madge made Marvel continued cautiously, "-dge. Was that your stomach, Katniss?"

"It's nothing," Katniss grumbled. Out of humiliation, she hurriedly reached over and grabbed a red cup she knew wasn't hers. She took a quick swallow and immediately gagged. Covering her mouth with her hand she demanded, "What's that?" She knew the answer but dreaded to hear it.

"Vodka of course," Glimmer answered before her eyes grew wide, "Don't tell me you haven't drank before!"

Katniss said nothing, but that was enough for an answer. "Guys, guys!" she continued, smacking their arms, "Katniss has never had beer before!"

Exclaims of shock rang out and Katniss's eyes narrowed. She had no respect for those who drank underage, and she wasn't going to start.

She promised to never drink, or do anything out of line ever since _that_ incident.

As everyone around the table began to murmur amongst themselves in horror, Katniss pushed herself off the chair and stormed out of the room, cheeks hot as lava.

The rest stared after her, and suddenly annoyed, Marvel grumbled, "What the hell's her problem?"

Madge didn't bother to chastise him for his language because personally, she was thinking the same way. She grumbled about rudeness and Glimmer joined in. Peeta was hesitant.

Only Clove remained silent.

Meanwhile, Katniss walked out of the house, not caring if her mother was asleep. She wanted to get home. _Now_.

But a scene along the way made her stop in her tracks. She came to a stop and quickly darted around a nearby pillar to watch.

There was a girl, someone who Katniss did not recognize or seem to have encountered in the high school halls. She must be a middle school student.

Katniss watched her. The other person had his back turned to Katniss, so she didn't get to see his face, but he was visibly relaxed, completely opposite from the girl, who was as tense as a person could get, despite the sway of her appeared drunkenness.

Katniss knew this was wrong. She should just turn around and act like she didn't witness what she had, but she did.

Slowly, the girl opened her mouth and forced out a few words Katniss did not hear. Her cheeks were stained a warm red, and slowly, her eyes darted upwards to meet the boy's gaze. He must've said something, because a look of shock crossed her face, and then her eyes became glossy underneath the night moon. She turned and ran away before her first tears could fall.

Meanwhile, Katniss stood, slightly puzzled and a little confused as to why she came here.

And then the mystery boy turned around.

Immediately, Katniss stiffened as their eyes met. It was Cato.

She lifted her chin and glared at him, daring him to say something. He seemed surprisingly at ease despite the scene that just unfolded.

"Want a ride?" he asked.

Surprised, she could only stare as he raised his eyebrows at her. "Well?"

She said nothing, sucking in an exasperated breath before following him through the back gate.

Katniss walked a spacious couple of feet away from him as they walked through the freshly mowed grass, past idiotic children doing idiotic things Katniss couldn't bring herself to even look at.

He opened the door to that red convertible Katniss didn't know and hopped inside.

She continued to stand and stare at him. "Isn't it better if people don't see us together like this?"

Cato glanced up at her and made a point of revving the engine. "They're all drunk. They'll be caught drunk driving before they can match our speed."

"And you're not?"

He frowned at her. "Are you coming or not?"

Katniss glared at him but nonetheless opened the door and sliding inside, slamming the car door loudly.

Cato watched her for a moment as she pulled on her seatbelt before starting the car and driving away.

The slight Autumn breeze gently blew through the car. Katniss felt the need to shiver, but hid it.

Cato glanced over at her. "Did you walk?"

Katniss turned to meet his eyes but he had already fixated his gaze back on the road. "Why? Think I was too wimpy to walk seven blocks?" She felt oddly defensive, but her mind was fuzzy and she looked back outside as if doing so would clear her thoughts.

"No," Cato said, remaining stoic despite his confusion at her cold reply. "Just wondering."

The next minute went by slowly, but neither of them didn't seem to mind.

Until a familiar grumble was heard.

Cato couldn't help but be shocked as he turned over and stared at Katniss. She blushed an innocent pink she hoped wasn't seen in the dark.

"You have a big growl from someone as tiny as you," Cato commented as he turned.

"Shut up," she mumbled, but inwardly, she cursed herself because he was right.

But only until she was able to fight off that ignorant blush did she realize something. "Hey," she said, leaning over and staring outside, "Weren't we supposed to make a turn back there?"

"Yeah," he said.

Eyebrows narrowed, Katniss pressed, "And why-"

"We're stopping by a café. You're hungry, aren't you?"

Katniss didn't answer the question and instead, asked one of her own, "Why do you care?"

"Because my mom will kill me if you pass out in hunger," Cato replied blankly.

The two didn't say much more after that but it was okay because Cato had already swerved into an empty parking lot.

He chose a space not too far from a crisp white-colored building. The lights were flickering and visible bugs hung around it, illuminated by its glow.

The neon signs were supposed to spell out the words, "Coffee Colors," but the first few letters were dim, so it ended up saying, "Fee Colors."

She must've said it out loud because Cato turned and explained briefly, "It's not running on very well. Not a whole lot of people care about it." Somehow that wasn't very surprising.

Katniss got out of the car and followed Cato through the stained glass doors. Despite the old and rotting walls of the shop, the crisp aroma of baking sweets still aroused Katniss from her tired state.

"Is that who I think it is?"

A round, pudgy woman rounded the corner, her short stubbly arms at her sides as she made it to the counter. She was old, her white hair pulled back into a low bun. A few strands were left out to frame her wrinkly face. Strange thing was, she didn't look the least bit tired.

"Cato, nice to see you again!" she spoke with a dim Germanic accent. "Oh, and who do we have here?" Her warm eyes turned to Katniss as she wiped her hands on a dish cloth.

"She's a classmate of mine," Cato replied absently before speaking, "Meredith, can we have one chocolate hazelnut donut and coffee?"

"Why of course!" the woman merrily replied. "What size?"

"Small will be fine."

"On my way! Please, make yourselves at home." With that, she waddled away, disappearing behind the door.

Cato walked to a chair and sat down. Katniss took the one across from him. "She seems nice," she offered.

"She has to be," Cato replied simply.

Katniss couldn't help it. "What?"

"She lost her son and had an abortion," Cato said in a hushed voice, "Her husband also died in the marines only a few years ago." Katniss could only stare, her heart suddenly feeling heavy in her chest because she could relate to this poor woman. "So don't bring up the topic of family, alright?" he sharply told her, eyes narrowed.

Katniss wouldn't think of it.

A moment later, Meredith waddled out from the door, in her hands two cups of coffee. She had a bright smile on her worn old face, and Katniss felt another pang of pity. How could she keep on smiling after going through so much?

"There you go sweethearts," she chirped. "Bitter, just the way you like it Cato." She directed her next words to Katniss, "I didn't know how you liked yours but I mixed in a little bit of cinnamon. Is that okay?"

How could she tell what Katniss liked just by looking at her? If this woman had grandchildren they'd probably love her.

Katniss nodded. "Thank you."

Meredith grinned and started to back away. "I'll be getting your donut now."

Cato took a sip of his coffee and exhaled with pleasure, setting the cup back down n the table.

"Did you have beer before this?" Katniss asked him bluntly when Meredith was out of hearing range.

His eyes flickered up to meet hers. "A little."

"You don't seem the least bit drunk."

He snorted, "If I could, I'd want to be. I'm the kind of person who's tolerant to drugs."

Katniss could only nod as she lifted the cup to sip it. The fresh taste of spice danced on her dry tongue and cascaded down her empty throat, filling the pit of her stomach.

Her eyes grew wide as she looked down at the coffee, licking her lips in satisfaction.

"Is it good?" Meredith asked, returning to the table. She spoke with her eyes directed to Katniss though, so she must've seen her moment of pleasure.

"It's tasty," Katniss replied, watching as Meredith set down a donut in front of her.

"That's good to hear," she smiled warmly. "I'll take my leave now."

"You're not going to have a donut?" Katniss asked Cato.

"I don't like sweet things," Cato replied. That explained the bitter coffee.

"Well that's not surprising," Katniss mumbled under her breath.

"What?" he asked.

She looked up at him. "Bitter attitude equals bitter taste," she replied.

He snorted, "Look at yourself too. Really in the position to say that?"

"Yeah," Katniss replied, making a point by biting into the really _sweet_ donut.

He sighed and continued to drink his coffee in silence. The food filled up Katniss's bare stomach and in a minute, she didn't feel that her stomach would grumble.

For a minute the two were silent, the only sound was the hum of the whirring coffee machine and occasional flickering of the light.

"You look nice, by the way," Cato muttered, not meeting her surprised eyes as he sipped his coffee.

Katniss raised her eyebrows at him, mildly confused as to why he complimented her now of all times. "Huh," she muttered, taking a sip of the hot drink in front of her.

Cato wasn't sure why he said that, but now that he had a conversation going, he wasn't going to let it end in awkwardness. "Where'd you get it?"

She looked up, her eyes narrowing. "Why? Want to buy one for yourself to go to prom?"

"I could care less about prom," Cato said.

Katniss remained silent for a while, watching as the steam billowed up from her piping hot coffee before dissipating into the cold air. "You said so yourself you don't want to talk about family here," Katniss muttered, her eyes still lingering in the air.

"What does this have to do with it?" Cato asked, lifting his cup to drink out of it.

"This is from my father's funeral," Katniss said.

He was strangely quiet, his coffee still in midair as he stilled at her words. Finally, he set down his coffee and turned to look at her. "That's…," his sentence trailed off in loss silence.

Katniss numbly chewed her donut. "Terrible, yeah I know, save your breath," Katniss muttered. "If I had a nickel for every time I heard that…"

"How old were you…when he…?"

"Seven," Katniss answered. Her fingers were stiff as she tore the remaining bits of her donut apart. "Look, I don't want to talk about this."

He respected her wish and didn't comment on it anymore. To think someone like her…Sure there was no dad when her family moved in, but he had always suspected it to be something like a divorce. Now that he knows that she's fatherless, it makes him wonder how she could possible still hold strong even now.

Katniss stood from her seat and brushed remaining crumbs off the dress.

"You ready to go?" Cato asked her.

"Yeah," she said, avoiding his eyes as she picked up the cup and the remains of her donut and dumping it into a nearby trashcan.

Cato did the same with his coffee and yelled, "Thanks, Meredith!"

"No problem, sweetie!" the old woman said from somewhere behind the kitchen. She then wobbled out, grinning cheerfully at the two. "Come again another time!" she said, her eyes on Katniss.

"Thanks," she muttered as they left the shop.

The two got into the red convertible and began to slowly drive away.

**Don't get bored of my story just yet! A shocking event is going to happen in the next chapter!**


	9. Chapter 9: Rougher Times

**Hello my lovelies!**

**Thanks for sticking around with my cruddy story for so long! You all get a cookie!**

**I wish.**

**HAHA, so here's chapter nine! Hope you guys like it!**

CHAPTER NINE

Something about the atmosphere was different at school today.

Katniss walked slowly to her first class, Home Economics, a little disturbed as to why not a chirpy Madge or Glimmer were running up to her.

When she stepped into the classroom and made her way to her seat, a sudden body blocked her path and slid into the chair.

Glimmer frowned up at her. "Sorry, but this seat is taken."

Katniss's eyes widened as she turned to look at Madge, but she didn't meet her eyes. Instead, she focused on the textbook before her, preparing for the test they've all dreaded.

Quietly, Katniss slid into the chair next to them at another table just as Cinna walked in.

"How's everyone doing!" he yelled cheerfully.

"Good," a few people chorused. Katniss remained silent.

"You all ready for the test today?" he asked.

No one replied; only groans.

He began to pass out the written test. As he did, he warned them with a happy but threatening voice, "You guys know the rules-no cheating, no sleeping, no snoring, no eating, no talking. And if you're ready for the sewing part, turn in your paper and come meet me."

He handed Katniss her paper and she could only stare at it for a moment. Obviously, the first part of the test was multiple-choice, covering the basics.

Katniss filled out the bubbles half-heartedly, occasionally her mind wandering off to as to why everyone was acting so strange today. They seemed perfectly fine at the party last night.

She glanced over at Glimmer and Madge, who were both busy working, but as if Glimmer felt eyes on her, she looked up to meet Katniss's gaze. Surprising her, Glimmer's eyes narrowed into slits as she turned to work again.

Katniss frowned but a curious look from her partner next to her made Katniss's eyes fleet back down to her paper once again.

She wrote out the last question before anyone else and slid out of her seat to turn it in.

Cinna's eyes held a little bit of mystery and yet at the same time-was that a twinkle of pity?

Then he handed her two pieces of cloth and a needle and thread.

She went back to her table silently, careful not to disturb the other students around her. She began to sew together the cloth quietly.

At the end of the test, Madge and Glimmer packed quickly, leaving the room before Katniss could get the chance to put her pencil back in her pencil case.

A few students walked past, and to her dismay, girls glared in her direction.

Stunned, Katniss packed up her items and left the classroom. Luckily, along the way she ran into Foxface, who's eyes kept on fleeting from left to right. "Oh, Katniss," she said, "Hi."

"Why's everyone acting so weird today?" Katniss asked, getting straight to the point. "Did something happen?"

Foxface toyed with the hem of her shirt. "Well-there's this rumor going around that-"

Her words were cut short when two girls rammed into Katniss from either side. She stumbled, catching herself in time. But when she looked up to see Foxface, she had already stealthily disappeared into the sea of students.

Katniss walked into Art class just as the bell rang, but the first thing she saw stepping in was not the agenda on the board.

It was her desk.

It was knocked over, all of her contents from the night before sprawled out all over the ground.

The second she walked inside, everyone's eyes lifted to meet hers. The girls glared, and a few boys sent her a look of pity.

Katniss walked over and dropped her bag at her side before kneeling down to pick up her items. Her mind buzzed numbly as she packed up all her things and lifted her desk back up. And then she saw the word on it.

Whore.

Katniss stared at it for a long time, as if doing so would somehow make the word vanish, but it was still there in visible red ink. But that wasn't what surprised her. It was the fact that she knew the handwriting.

Katniss looked up to find Glimmer in the crowd, but her back was turned to her.

Frustrated, Katniss swung her bag onto the desk to cover the word momentarily before heading over to the sink. She damped a towel and returned to her desk and scrub the word off. By the time she finished, Mr. Abernathy finally made his way into the classroom.

"Alright, butt children, quiet down," he grumbled, setting his bag on his desk before cracking his knuckles and exhaling loudly. "I hate my job." He said those words quietly, but everyone still heard.

He continued, "Last week's work-"

He was cut short when the door swung open. Cato marched in, unbothered by Mr. Abernathy's frustrated gaze.

He plopped into the seat next to Katniss, and she glanced over at him, but he was facing forward.

"As I was saying," the teacher said, an edge in his tone, "Last week's work-turn it in up front."

As everyone began to shuffle around, Katniss pulled out her essay and began to walk forward. However, along the way, something caught her foot and she flew forward, stumbling before catching herself in time to hear the snickers from a few girls.

And Glimmer.

Cato watched this silently, noticing the slight twitch in Katniss's jaw before she turned and headed up front. She took it rather well. If it happened to him he would've punched that person in the jaw right then and there. She looked as though it was another mosquito sting.

Mr. Abernathy noticed the silent exchange as well, and he grunted. His little fire girl looked even more ferocious, but she did a good job at keeping it bottled in. He nodded to himself. He was going to keep these girls after class and have a talk.

Maybe after a bottle of whiskey.

The class continued on painfully. Katniss was aware of eyes on her, but she made a point by not meeting any of theirs as she scribbled down notes she knew she wouldn't need.

She began to vary her handwriting, first beginning out large and then swindling down to small font. She tried block letters and then long, almost unreadable words.

By the time she finished class was over and once again, Madge and Glimmer were out of sight.

Katniss quietly packed her items.

She knew this feeling. She felt it one too many times before to not know. Something happened, and whatever that something was, it was the cause of this bullying.

Katniss walked to lunch slowly, and thankfully, when she stepped in everyone was too busy with their own business to stop and stare at her.

She walked towards her usual lunch table, but to her dismay, her seat was being used as a footrest by none other than Glimmer herself.

Katniss slowed to a stop and waited patiently for Glimmer to move her legs, but she didn't. After a few seconds, she turned to meet her eyes.

Katniss swore she saw fire.

"I think there's room somewhere else in this cafeteria," she spoke in a sly, almost devilish voice.

Katniss turned to meet everyone else's eyes, but they were too busy eating their food to care. Or they were just avoiding her gaze.

Katniss got the message though. She wasn't wanted here.

To avoid any further humiliation, she turned and walked out from there, her slow pace turning quick in a blink of an eye.

Clove watched this with sad eyes, and suddenly angered, she lifted up her tray and slammed it down on the table. Everyone looked at her in shock.

She gritted her teeth before rising from her seat and following Katniss out the door.

The whole time, Cato watched as well from his own table. He chewed his carrot silently, looking at ease to everyone's eyes, when really he was twitching from worry as to why Katniss was getting treated this way.

Clove followed Katniss to the courtyard, where she took her seat next to her cousin on the rotting old bench.

"Hey, don't take it personally," Clove told her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Shit happens."

Katniss remained silent, staring blankly at the large oak tree before them, its leaves ruffling silently in the wind.

"People are just a little jealous sometimes," Clove said, "It's understandable. I mean-"

"What's there to be jealous about?" Katniss asked blankly, turning to look at Clove with cold eyes. "I'm nothing."

"No, you're beautiful," Clove told her, "It's just…there's this thing…going around…"

Katniss didn't have to speak to ask her. Clove sucked in her breath, "They say that at the party last night Cato took you out for dinner privately."

So that's what this was all about. How petty of these girls.

"So?" Katniss asked. "It's just a friendly gesture."

"Not to them," Clove said, "Katniss, to these girls, a mere chance to be with Cato is in one in a million chance. You've been at school and have only known him for two days before he asked you out!"

That's not true. Katniss knew him long before.

"He didn't ask me out," Katniss defended herself, "He saw that I was hungry and took me out to eat."

"There was like, a hundred dishes at Madge's house," Clove told her. Clove sighed as she watched Katniss take this in. "Look, Katniss, you're my cousin, and I really care about you. So please, kill this crap before it gets out of hand."

"It already has," Katniss muttered softly before standing.

"Where are you going?" Clove asked.

"Away," Katniss answered quietly as she stepped back into the school. She turned her back to the cafeteria and walked down the empty halls, the sound of her feet the only thing filling up this sudden emptiness.

** Poor Katniss. I'll cry for her.**


	10. Chapter 10: In Hot Coffee

**Sorry for the long wait, you all. I was suffering from a major illness called LAZINESS. I was lazy-heheh-sorry.**

**But you don't have to wait any longer because FINALLY, I've completed Chapter Ten. Read on and I hope you guys like it!**

CHAPTER TEN

Katniss opened the door to Cato's house and stepped inside, her frown turning into a scowl when she saw who was sitting on the couch.

Esme and Rue were seated there, despite their coziness, obviously waiting for her arrival.

"Katniss," Esme sang as she sprang to her feet, "look what I got you."

She held a black bag, and when she tore it off it revealed the most stunning, albeit _revealing_, dress Katniss had ever seen. "Rue told me about the party you went to last night," she explained, "so I felt the need to get you a dress. I didn't see one single one in your closet."

She went through Katniss's closet? That was crossing the line, not like there was any line crossing today already.

She exhaled and turned sharply, heading up the steps slowly.

"Hey, where are you going?" Esme shouted after her. "I want to see you in this dress!"

Katniss made a point by slamming her door shut behind her that it could be heard all the way from down the staircases.

"Just leave it alone, mom," Rue said softly, "I think Katniss needs some alone time right now."

"And why is that?"

Rue shrugged her shoulders. "Because that's what teens are like."

Upstairs, Katniss pulled off her tight clothes and threw on a baggy sweatshirt, gathering her hair up into a high, messy braid. As she peeled off her jeans, her phone fell out from her pocket, and on the blinking screen was the number four sign.

Katniss picked it up and flipped it open. Four missed calls from Clove. Typical.

She tossed her phone on her bed as she slid her legs into her jogging pants. She needed to run. Who cared about what the doctor said about her stitches?

Before she left, however, she headed over to her laptop and pulled it up onto her lap. She opened the lid and immediately a new email sign popped from the corner.

Katniss clicked on it and a new message filled her page. It was from her friend in Arizona, Enobaria. The message started off with:

_Hey girl! _

Katniss sighed as she rolled down the page.

_What have you been doing? Not even calling me or emailing me! You're lucky I'm not there to whoop your ass for ignoring my texts!_

Katniss smiled softly and clicked the reply button:

_Sorry, Eno, been a little busy these past few days. It's a nightmare up here. I miss you and the others. How's Effie doing? She off buying more cosmetics again? Are you still trying to stop her?_

Katniss paused to click an exasperated emoticon.

_I miss Arizona. It's too cold up here and already we've got a lot of crap shoved up our butts. Reply as soon as you can._

Katniss ended the message with a heart.

Her shoulders fell inwards with the heavy sigh that escaped her lips. Her eyes wandered her girly room, then at the door. This was reality now. She's stuck in a cruddy house with her cruddy old enemy and an overly cruddy mom.

Stuffing her phone with an irritable shove back into her pocket, she opened the door to head out, stopping instantly when she recognized that turned back.

Cato heard her door open and turned to stare at her, from the tip of her head, down to the ends of her toes.

"Going somewhere?" he challenged her.

She simply shoved past him. Katniss ran down the stairs, and aware of the looming presence of Cato following her, she turned around and sighed, "What?"

"Where are you going?"

"Why?"

Cato sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "There are a lot of creepers out there. If you're not careful, you might get hurt."

"I can take care of myself perfectly fine, thank you," Katniss told him curtly as she pulled on her tennis shoes, slightly miffed that he underestimated her that much.

"I should be worried though." He seemed to have said this more to convince himself than Katniss, but still, she stiffened and straightened to look at him. "But don't get me wrong. Mom would kill me if she found out I let your stitches burst apart." He gestured to her hand.

She frowned at him, eyes narrowing into a glare as she stubbornly yanked on her left shoe. Then she stood and opened the door.

Katniss didn't bother to close the door behind her, knowing Cato would do it himself. And to ensure he wouldn't follow her, she picked up into a run.

Katniss liked to run. At her pace, nobody could see her, and neither could she. She'd run until she lost herself into the gravel long ago.

Her muscles didn't hurt, her eyes stayed open straight ahead at her unknown destination. She just had to get out of that house, out somewhere she knew no one could see her.

Should she run to Arizona? Rent an apartment in the city?

Her legs strained to match the beat in her head.

Faster, faster.

Her chest felt as though it was splayed open, her heart beating so openly, but not from exhaustion.

She was far from exhaustion.

Katniss's arms pumped at her sides, her elbows jabbing at the air she left behind so long ago. Her shoes crunched against the newly wet pavement.

The sky was clear white, a grayish tint layering it. It was blinding to look at.

Her lips were pursed in determination, determination to run someplace where she won't have to hear herself think, to smother herself in the conflicts of her troubled world.

Katniss ran like she didn't just notice the red convertible driving by, knowing for sure that Cato was not in there.

She wished she didn't have to stop to stare.

* * *

"You're off track and field."

They were all stretching out in the fields when Coach Meyer spoke. "What?" Katniss asked as she rose from her seated position.

"I can't have a girl with an injury on my team," Coach Meyer explained shortly as she jotted something down on her clipboard.

"This is nothing when I run," Katniss said, harshly looking down at her stitched hand. "Why am I off?"

"Well, first and foremost, it's against the rulebook to let a wounded student continue to run this close to track meets," she replied, busily looking through the papers clipped to her board. "And secondly, it's a disgrace and embarrassment. Show's how desperate I am for a member."

"Well, what are you going to do after I'm off? Look for someone else?"

Coach glanced up to look at Katniss. "It's better than being disqualified because of one newbie member," she said harshly.

Katniss stared at her coach for a moment in disbelief, then with a defiant sigh she turned around and marched through the field of stretching students, all in which continued to stare at the ground-pretending that they didn't hear and pretending they couldn't do anything about it.

* * *

"In art today we'll be working in groups," Mr. Abernathy said almost lazily.

Immediately, whispers broke out as eyes searched over the crowd of heads to meet other people. "Quiet down, quiet down," he said, though half-heartedly. "And no need for that. I've already assigned you to your groups."

A groan and sound of displeasure washed through the crowd, but Mr. Abernathy didn't seem to mind. In fact, he appeared bored.

"When I call your name, remain seated until I tell you all to get together," he said before reading off the list, "Allison, Jacob…"

Katniss pretty much zoned out after that. She gloomily looked out the window, only to see that a gigantic tree was blocking the view. Her cheek was cupped in her palm, her eyes narrowly disregarding any glances people around the room gave her way.

Day three of horror, she thought to herself, if only her mom would move again so she could leave this hell zone.

A rapping of knuckles on wood pulled her from her thoughts. Above her stood two glaring girls that Katniss immediately recognized.

"What?" she grumbled.

"Didn't you hear? Mr. Abernathy paired us up with you," Glimmer said disapprovingly, hands shoved into her pockets.

"Obviously not," Madge answered Glimmer's question.

Katniss turned to stare. "I thought that you weren't in Art," Katniss said, voicing her thoughts.

"I got a schedule change," Madge said, her eyes flicking down from her shoes up to Katniss's head, "sadly."

"Alright, enough chit chat already," Mr. Abernathy said, waving his arm half-heartedly to grab everyone's attention. "The directions are on the stack of papers up at the board. Feel free to…do whatever."

Madge sighed and watched as Glimmer left to grab the papers. She looked like she'd rather do anything than to stand and wait with Katniss.

When Glimmer returned, she had only two papers, giving one of them to Madge.

"It says here to create a mural from one of the time periods below." Glimmer's eyes skimmed down the page and scoffed, "The buffoon even spelled African wrong. Who does that?"

As Madge laughed, Katniss wondered if they were referring to Mr. Abernathy.

"I say we do Native American," Madge said, eyeing over the list of words, "What do you say, Glimmer?"

"I say, of course!" she laughed. "That's like, the only mural that has colors."

"That's not true," Katniss said, and the two turned and eyed her as if they were skinning a potato. "Greek murals have color."

Glimmer looked like she wanted to say something, but then she seemed to have thought against it because she smiled almost bitterly and said, "Alright then, let's take a vote." She and the rest knew she was confident for the win.

"All for Greek?" she asked.

This was ridiculous. Katniss kept her hand down.

"All for Natives."

Two hands rose in the hair as Glimmer turned to coldly smirk at Katniss. "Majority wins," she said devilishly soft.

* * *

Cato arrived at Coffee Colors, only to see four girls bitterly sniping at Meredith who stood calmly behind the counter, taking it all.

He dropped his backpack at the door as the door jingled shut.

"What the hell?" he shouted as he heard one sneer that she was fat. "Get the fuck out of here!"

The four girls turned and seemed surprised to see Cato, but nonetheless peeled themselves off the booths and made their way to the door, grumbling along the way.

Cato wasted no time as he crossed the shop to see Meredith, who looked surprisingly calm as she wiped the counters with her damp towel.

"What did those girls want?" he demanded.

"Oh, calm yourself down, Cato," Meredith said, a warm smile on her face that balanced out the sad glint in her eyes. "You always get angry when you're hungry. Here, I prepared you your hot coffee." She placed the cup in front of him, and her soothing tone coaxed Cato to speak softer.

"How could you let them call you those horrible things?" Cato asked. "These girls were from my school. They were looking for trouble. You _own_ this place, Meredith, you have the right to kick them out!"

"Cato, calm down," Meredith said. "It wasn't like they did anything harmful to me. They were just customers who came here to buy coffee."

Cato followed her request for only a short time, because then he noticed the reddish mark on her hand and questioned, "What's that?"

"What? This?" Meredith asked, looking down at her hand. "Oh, it's nothing."

"Doesn't look like nothing to me."

"Child, why are you so stubborn?" she asked but with a calming voice. She brushed some gray hairs from her face. "Those girls were here yesterday too. One spilt her coffee on the table saying it wasn't to her liking. No harm done. Those things happen."

"It burned you, Meredith," Cato said, "And you're old. If anything, your health is the thing most important here."

"I'm fine, I assure you, Cato," Meredith said smoothly, "Now drink up. The coffee won't stay warm forever."


	11. Chapter 11: Oranges and Cigarettes

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Katniss didn't want to go home. She knew everyone was probably expecting her now.

Her feet wandered along the sidewalk, her mind blank as she stared ahead at the blinding lights of passing cars.

Her phone told her nine-thirty. Her mind told her four o'clock.

She wasn't ready to return back to that dreaded house. She just needed some more time alone, to take her mind off of some things.

Her backpack from school was still slung over her shoulder, the zipper broken off because someone had 'accidentally' stepped on it. It didn't matter though. She had already cleared all of her stuff out and put it in her locker, not caring if she had homework due the next day.

Katniss exhaled deeply, white steam billowing into the air before her before disappearing as quickly as it came.

The sky was as dark as it would be on a chilly night in Oregon, cool clouds steadily moving in on the grinning Cheshire moon.

An occasional squirrel would dart across the road, narrowly missing a car that had to swerve to avoid it. The person inside would curse loudly.

Her phone buzzed in her pocket, but she didn't bother taking it out. She knew it was another worried call or message from Prim or her two mothers. As much as she hated to admit it though, she was ready to return back into her bedroom.

Her feet absentmindedly turned her around, and she slowly started back home.

She arrived back at Cato's home silently, head down as she pushed open the unlocked door.

Sure enough everyone was waiting for her inside. Even Cato was there, even though he looked like he wanted to go back upstairs.

"Where were you?" her mother demanded, watching her daughter pull off her boots and set them aside on the mat.

When Katniss said nothing, she repeated, "Katniss Lynn Everdeen, you answer me right now!"

When her voice raised, curiosity got the best of Katniss as she glared at her. Her mother's eyes were tired, dark circles surrounding her pretty blue eyes that now looked glassy with anger.

"I was walking," Katniss replied simply. She was aware of the people behind her looking like they wanted to step in to do something, but they remained seated.

"Walking? You-Hey! Get back here this instant!" Katniss had moved to go back up the staircase. "Did you even consider how worried we were? How worried _I_ was?"

"Why should I have?" Katniss challenged. "You never care for me as it is."

"You take that back. You _know_ that's not true."

"Fine, then. I only say stuff I know are lies," she said, her voice dripping with anger and sarcasm. Her temper was raising. She wished she never stopped walking.

Katniss once again tried to go back up the stairs, but her mother's vice-like grip held her back. "You get back here! How dare you say those stuff? When did you become like this?" her voice cracked but the tears remained in her eyes.

"Will you leave it alone already?" Katniss asked.

With a sharp shake of the head, her mother's hand squeezed even tighter on her arm.

Katniss turned to meet her mother's gaze, her jaw squared with defiance. "So? Why do you care? Dad was the only one who ever listened to me," she said.

"Now you do not," she shouted, "bring up your father's name in our house!"

"But it's not your house!" Katniss said. She had enough. "We're only here because of you! You broke down and it cost you your home! You got depressed and I was the one who had to take care of Prim! And you yell at _me_?"

Her grip was released on Katniss's arm only to draw back and slap her across the face. The sound was loud, and her cheek felt as though it was just sharply stabbed before the feeling numbed down.

Prim and Rue sat up straighter, alarm in their eyes. Cato's mother rose to her feet. Even Cato appeared shocked. He searched Katniss's eyes, but there weren't any signs of sadness within them. Only pure anger.

"How dare you-" Her mother would've had continued but Cato's mom had went over and placed her hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, it's okay…," her voice became dimmer in Katniss's ears. She didn't want to be here anymore.

She whirled around and ran up the staircase, ignoring the calls from Prim.

Katniss rounded the corner and into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

She yanked off her socks and leapt onto her bed, ignoring her stinging cheek. It was certain that it'd leave a mark.

Katniss didn't regret what she said though. It was all true-each word that left her mouth. Her mother just won't buy it-or in this case, accept it. Her mother's ashamed of herself, that's for sure, but so far Katniss hasn't seen a single thing or act she has done to help change what she was for the past nine years. And that's what irritates Katniss.

She wished that her mother would just wake up from that idiotic daydream of hers, pretending that Father never existed and that their family wasn't going through what was happening. If the positions were reversed, Father would still be going to work in Arizona, trying his best to support the rest of the family.

She'd choose her father over Mother any day.

At that moment, there was a knock on the door and Katniss turned to see Cato walk in.

For a moment he paused, staring at her face-no doubt the red slap mark-before stepping inside.

She watched him cautiously as he pulled over her desk chair and sat before her. In his hands was a bowl of oatmeal. He handed it to her. "Here," he said.

Katniss didn't take it, she just stared at him with narrowed eyes that told him silently to get the hell out of her bedroom.

He sighed and then placed the bowl on her desk. "Whatever," he muttered before standing to leave.

She watched him go, and then back at the chair he just sat in. The chair spun slightly from his departure, but came to a stop.

However, on his way out, he stopped by the door and seemed to stare at the picture frame at her bedside.

Katniss saw him staring and he moved to leave, but she stopped him by saying, "That's my dad."

He looked over at her, but she continued to stare down at the ground. After a moment though, she looked over to meet his eyes. His gaze was empty.

"Does it hurt?" he asked.

She wasn't sure if he was referring to the thought of having a dead father or the slap. She answered the latter, "No."

He was quiet for a long time, just staring at the frame. Katniss felt slightly self conscious despite everything. In the photo it was her younger sister sitting on the shoulders of her father, laughing at the camera. Her mother stood by with a warm smile, her arm hooked with her fathers. He had his classic grin on his face, wrinkles etched into the corners of his eyes from smiling so much. In the photo, seven-year-old Katniss stood nearby, a tight-lipped smile on her face, in her hands the thick book of A Wrinkle In Time.

Cato must've noticed it. "You read difficult books when you were young," he commented.

He should know. He made fun of her because of that. She still had the same book sitting on her desk, and he must've noticed the battered novel because he didn't say any more.

The memory of his kicking feet as he tore apart the book forced Katniss to her feet. She was aware of the sudden eyes on her, but hers remained on the ground. "Leave," she whispered. Nothing.

She looked over at him. "Leave," she repeated, her voice stronger.

They stared at each other for a long time, his sky blue eyes trying to break into her guarded hazel gaze. Then he turned away and left the room silently with a quiet click of the door.

Katniss remained still for a moment, stiff as thought her blood froze and her bones were immobilized. Then she silently forced her aching legs to move over to the book.

She never understood why she kept the book. Maybe because it was snapped in one of the only pictures she had of her father and couldn't bring herself to throw it away, despite the terrible memories it held.

She hesitantly reached over and picked up the book. The soft cover was torn from the top down to nearly the middle, mud still caked all over. The spine was peeled to reveal the delicate white tissue of the inner cover that had somehow managed to survive the terrible torture. The other pages weren't as lucky.

They were all old, stained from dirty shoes and spilt juice. The corners were torn and the words were as readable as the moon on a sunny day.

She turned it over and continued to stare at it. How could Cato have not remembered? The book, the scar, the braid itself…Maybe he was as dense as she had described him to be.

Sometimes she wondered if she should just tell him, to get him off her back, but she didn't want to deal with the consequences. The house was as divided as it was already. If she told him, he'd probably start tormenting her again. She could just imagine his word.

Katniss closed her eyes and exhaled deeply, not bothering to look as she dropped the book into her trash bin.

* * *

"Oh my god, what happened to _you_?"

Despite her concerned words, they were spoken with a hint of amusement and humor.

Katniss ignored Glimmer and walked over to her desk. Her cry had gotten the attention of everyone in the classroom, and Katniss frowned at the unwanted attention.

She cupped her cheek in her hand, trying to cover up the red slap mark that had suddenly became more prominent in the morning, hoping inwardly that they'd all give up and return to their own business.

And they did, after a while. She leaned down to pull her textbook from inside her desk, but as she did, she heard a couple of girls across the room snicker.

She looked up at them, but under Katniss's glare, they immediately turned away. Katniss looked down at her textbook and flipped it open to the front page, only to realize that it wasn't her textbook.

Apparently, it was Cat Piss's.

She looked back up at the girls, but they had already turned their backs on her, continuing to quietly laugh amongst themselves.

Katniss sighed and flipped on to the next page. She remembered the same thing happening to her years ago, and to make it slightly terrifying, she was getting used to it. Like this was a part of her everyday life now.

Katniss grabbed her pen and began to write down her homework on the board, but stopped immediately as a group of girls walked past her desk.

She looked up just in time to see the girl casually throw her arms apart in exasperation, clearly emphasizing something, when her hand hit the juice bottle being held by her friend. It flew and landed on her desk, immediately splattering juice all over her papers and making her hair damp.

Alarmed, she stood up, flicking off orange juice that had gotten onto her. Immediately, everyone in the room stopped to stare at the scene, and the girl who flung her arm looked over at Katniss. "Oops, my bad," she sang before merrily skipping away with her friend.

The day started out awful. Already she was not in the position to be learning and her items were all soaked in orange juice.

She sighed and bent down to retrieve her fallen textbook, but was surprised when another hand got it for her.

Katniss looked up and realized that it was none other than Peeta. He looked a little annoyed, but surprisingly calm as he held the textbook. "I'm sorry about what those girls did," Peeta said.

Katniss said nothing as she pushed in her chair.

"I can clean up your desk. You should go change," Peeta said.

Katniss glanced up at him, her cold glare measuring out his warm blue. "Just leave it," Katniss muttered before leaving the classroom.

Along the way in the empty halls she ran into Cinna, who appeared shocked as he took in Katniss's appearance. "My goodness, you poor girl, what happened?" he exclaimed.

She said nothing and merely walked past him towards the girl's bathroom.

As she opened it though, she found it being occupied. Johanna was leaning against a bathroom stall, lighting a cigarette. When she heard the door open, she stiffened and looked over, relaxing considerably. "Oh, it's Everdeen," she mumbled.

Katniss didn't respond and merely walked over to the sink, where she turned the faucet on.

She bent her head down and not caring about Johanna, began to run her hair underneath the running water.

It felt cold to her scalp, and Katniss exhaled deeply, breathing through her nose to avoid the disturbing scent of smoke and citrus mingling together. In an odd way, the scent was like burnt oranges.

Katniss didn't need to look up to know that Johanna had taken a drag to speak, "What happened with you?"

"Other than the fact you split my hand open?" Katniss bitterly asked as she ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yes, other than that," she replied calmly.

Obviously, Johanna was waiting for an answer. You didn't have to know her for long to know that she was as stubborn as a tiny splinter.

Katniss sighed and watched as the dense water washed down the drain. She felt exposed with her back to Johanna, who could easily ram the tip of her shoe up her butt and send her to the hospital once more.

Forcing the silly paranoid thoughts from her mind, Katniss finally answered, "I was careless."

"Careless," Johanna repeated. Not in the form of question but in plain disbelief. "Everdeen, I'm not dumb. I can spot a lie two miles away if I have to."

"And how is that?" the snide line was released from Katniss's lips.

"My dad's a cop," Johanna replied plainly.

Katniss couldn't help it. "And he's okay with you smoking and ditching class?"

"He's a _mall_ cop, dumbass." The question must've hit home because Johanna was silent for a while. Katniss glanced up at the mirror and saw Johanna bringing the cigarette to her lips. As she pulled away, a long steam billowed from her mouth.

Katniss didn't care though. If anything, Johanna ought to feel vulnerable. She split her hand open without a single feeling of remorse, and with an uncomfortable shift on her feet, Katniss realized that she's must've done worse.

"Seriously though, who dunked the juice on your head?" Johanna continued casually, leaving the other conversation behind.

Katniss was quiet as she bent her head lower so the water could reach the nape of her neck.

"And why would you care?"

"Because I want to congratulate them for doing something reasonable for once," Johanna replied smoothly, easily. Katniss said nothing.

Her hair pooled to the surface of the sink, and with nimble fingers she ran her hands through the knots to untangle them from the orange's sticky juice.

Johanna blew another steam of smoke, and Katniss's nose wrinkled at the awful scent. "This school is home for geeks and wimps. Never thought I'd hear the day when a brat would turn on another brat."

It took Katniss a few seconds to realize she was referring to Katniss, and biting her lip to restrain from yelling, she continued cleaning her hair.

"I don't know their names."

"Shame."

The word was said sarcastically though, and Katniss knew instantly that she didn't mean what she said earlier. If anything, she would've thought it was completely childish. Katniss did. Then again, this Johanna girl seemed plenty childish herself.

Johanna flicked some ash off the end of the cigarette. "Not that I care that much anyway. It was an amateur move if you tell me. Now splitting a kid's hand open is much more…" Her voice trailed off at the end, but they both knew what she meant to say. Katniss did her best so that her eyes didn't catch hers.

After a while of silence, Katniss pulled her head away, her hair dampening her shirt in the process.

"You going to class like that?" Johanna asked, gesturing to her.

"It's not like I have a choice," Katniss muttered, strangling her hair and squeezing the water out. The citrus smell was gone and though it wasn't pleasant, the scent of cigars filled the air and Katniss forced herself to breathe out of her mouth.

Before she knew it though, Johanna had thrown something at her head, and Katniss scowled, but pulled it away only to see a t-shirt double her shirt size.

"I was going to wear it to PE but," Johanna shrugged, "I'm planning on skipping anyway."

Katniss stared at her for a moment, then back down at the shirt. It was a stretchy gray material, with the word 'hardcore' printed in the front in block letters. The sleeves were torn off and the bottom was scrunched up at the back, as though it was normally tied up.

"I don't need it," Katniss said, forcing it back into Johanna's hand.

She frowned and turned away from her cigarette. "People say stubbornness ain't all that bad," she said casually, "I say that's bull. Just take it, girl. Burn it, I don't care. You're gonna need it though."

So now she could read the future? Twenty minutes into Friday and already Katniss felt like her head was going to explode.

She knew it was useless to argue though, so with a defiant sigh she slung the tee over her shoulder and walked out of the bathroom.

As Katniss left, the short haired female stared after her, exhaling deeply from her mouth. "Only heaven knows what'll happen to that kid," she muttered after a moment.

"Or hell."


	12. Chapter 12: All Those Mean Words

** A late update. Yes I know. And for those of you who are waiting for Heart of Steel…SIGH please do be patient. I am experiencing an illness known as Writer's Block.**

** Halloween was two days ago. A little late to say this but, HAPPY HALLOWEEN! I hope you guys had an awesome time indulging yourselves in cavity ensuing sweets. Please be mindful when your next dental appointment is LOL.**

** So anyways, enjoy this chapter and I'm looking forward to your reviews!**

CHAPTER TWELVE

Smack!

Katniss was able to reach out and catch the ball before it nailed her nose. She looked around for the culprit, but everyone continued to mill around.

"Everdeen! Move your feet!" a girl snidely yelled from her right.

Katniss cursed under her breath and with a strong pass, threw it at the girl.

* * *

She missed the bus-again.

Katniss came to a skidding stop as the buses pulled away, not bothering to stop for the girl. They drove up to the streets and went their separate ways.

Katniss dropped her bag to her side as she watched them go, disbelief on her face. Damn it, she wanted to scream, but years of conquering her emotions left her standing there, blankly watching them as they left.

She could've stood there all day if she had to until the next sun comes. Back when she lived in her old house-quite literally-she could've walked home each day if she had to. Last night she tried to walk home as well, but ended up getting sidetracked and continuing on to her endless destination. The consequence was a rather angry mother.

Katniss exhaled deeply and looked around, seeing some lingering students milling around, either waiting for their parents or plain screwing around.

Katniss gritted her teeth. It wasn't like she had a choice now. She had to walk home whether she liked it or not.

With quick hands, she defiantly snatched her shoulder bag off the ground and stalked off in the direction back to the house.

She walked with long strides, her eyes set straight forward, knowing if she looked around she was going to wander again. It made her wonder though, why she cared. Her mother was a bitch at heart and was only worried last night because it'd look bad in front of Cato's family. On several other occasions, she didn't blink twice when Katniss came back at nine in the afternoon.

Katniss shouldered her bag once more and continued forward only to stop immediately after she was dangerously close to tripping over something beneath her.

Glaring, she looked down to see a soccer ball, muddy from being stomped over all the time.

Frowning, she looked around for the source of the ball.

"Hey!" a voice called out.

She turned to see somebody waving at her. It was that olive-skinned boy that always hung around Cato. Tale? Bale…?

"Mind getting that for us?" he asked. There were a few other guys with him, and several Katniss knew. That's what made it intolerable for Katniss.

She turned back around without another glance and strode over the ball, walking away.

Gale watched her retreating with disbelieving eyes. "That girl…" he muttered, shaking his head, when really on the inside, he felt slightly turned on with her badass attitude. Not a lot of girls were like this way these days.

Gale took a step forward to retrieve the ball and hopefully get closer to her, but saw that Peeta had already taken the initiative to get the soccer ball for them.

Peeta ran forward and snatched up the ball, and before he could process what he was saying, he called out to Katniss.

She hesitated slightly but continued to walk.

Peeta knew the guys were watching but didn't care as he ran forward and grabbed her by the shoulder. He felt her tense beneath his touch and shrugged him away.

"What?" she demanded.

"You walking home?" he asked her, oblivious by her hostile eyes.

Katniss didn't answer. The answer was so obvious it made her scoff at how short-minded he was.

"I can drive you if you want," Peeta offered, a shy smile on his face, "The guys won't mind."

Cato was off to the side on the other field, waiting for them to retrieve the ball. His patience was wearing thin. What was taking them so long?

It was only until he looked over did he see Peeta suspiciously holding the ball in his hands, talking to a dark-dressed girl that Cato immediately recognized.

"That boy, flirting again," Finnick muttered, but he wore a proud smirk on his face.

Cato ignored him and jogged over. "If you're not going to play, at least give us the ball," Cato said as he strode over.

Peeta blinked over at him before looking down at the ball in his hands. "Oh, sorry man," he said, lightly tossing it to him.

Cato nudged his chin indifferently to Katniss. "What're you doing?" he asked, his question directed to Peeta.

"Katniss looked like she needed a ride home so I offered her one," Peeta replied smoothly, though his cheeks were tinted pink as he spoke.

"Yo, what's taking you guys so long?" an impatient voice called out.

Without turning, Cato tossed the ball over his head and the game continued without them.

"You go back in, Cato," Peeta told him, "They need a forward."

Cato ignored him and looked at Katniss, who met his gaze without fear. His blue eyes narrowed slightly at her before muttering, "Get in the car."

He grabbed her arm roughly and Katniss scowled, trying to shake him off. "The hell are you-!" The entire time, Peeta stood around uncomfortably, watching Katniss getting pushed into the side of the convertible.

After a while, Peeta finally found the nerve to speak, but when he did, they were already gone.

Katniss felt the need to knock some sense into Cato for just grabbing her like that, but when she attempted to, he remained expressionless, staring at the road ahead of them. Finally, she silenced herself, thinking what's the use as she stared outside.

She shouldn't be complaining though. Even though she was being driven against her own will, he did save her from the trouble of walking an entire twenty minutes, maybe thirty, back to his house.

Katniss sighed and upped her cheek in her palm, trying to push down the need to shiver as the chilly wind sliced through her hair.

Her eyes lingered and landed everywhere except for the blond driver. Then she stared down at the flashing, polished redness of the car and the question slipped from her lips, "whose car is this?"

Cato seemed slightly taken aback by her question, nearly running a stop sign, giving himself away. "Mine," he said. And after a second too long, he felt the impulse to add, "of course."

Katniss didn't have to say anything to show that she didn't believe him.

As he pulled to a stop at a red light, he ran a hand through his messy hair and admitted, "It's my dad's."

It didn't need to take a genius to put two and two together.

"I thought he was off on a business trip," Katniss said rather slyly.

"He gave the car to me and bought himself another one," Cato replied smoothly. Katniss knew it was a lie, but she didn't bother to pry any longer. She had her answer. It'll just take time to get some more out of him.

They pulled up into the driveway slowly, and Katniss took her time to gather her coat and bag before leaving the car.

"Hey," he suddenly called out as she made her way up the stairs. She stopped and turned. "What's that in your hair?"

"What's in-" Her voice trailed off as he stepped forward and raised his hand to lift the item out from the top of her black braid.

She immediately froze and looked up at him guardedly with a mixture of surprise and confusion. He stared back a little shocked by how warm her eyes were despite the stony feel to them.

Her eyes were a hazel brown, flecked gold around the iris that kept on flitting around back and forth between both his eyes.

It was a piece of paper.

Cato tore his eyes away from Katniss's and looked down as he unfolded the paper.

_Whore_, it said.

Cato was still as he read the word, and Katniss, impatient by nature, leaned over to see, but he crumpled it up quickly and tossed it off somewhere behind him.

"What was that for?" Katniss asked.

"It was just a piece of paper," Cato muttered, quickly stepping around Katniss to open the door.

Frustrated, Katniss's eyes scorned the area before her, trying to catch the piece of paper Cato had skillfully thrown to be hidden in the bushes. Finally, with a defiant pivot on her heels, she stalked back into the house, wondering why she bothered anyway.

"Rue and mom will be back soon," he explained carelessly, as if he didn't mind what she did. He flopped down onto the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table. "Just do whatever."

She didn't pay him any more attention, instead turning to the stairs and leaping up two steps at a time, unaware of the flickering glances he gave her behind her back as she disappeared from view.

She closed the door securely behind her, tossing her backpack at the foot of her bed before moving over to grab her laptop sitting on the top of her desk. Then she sat down cross-legged on the covers of her bed, turning it on silently.

There was a number one in the corner, and Katniss clicked on it, already knowing who it was from.

_About time, Kitty. I was beginning to get worried about you-especially with all that crap posted about you on your wall. What's going on?!_

With each word, Katniss felt her heart dropping deeper to her stomach. Her cursor scrolled over the reply button, but thinking better, created another tab and pulled up her FB page, which she hadn't bothered checking since a year ago.

Immediately, her screen was filled with the familiar blue wallpaper. She rolled down the page, only to be assaulted by the tens to hundreds of words.

There was an onslaught of comments ranging from a word up to an entire paragraph. They all had one thing in common though, and the words weren't pretty.

Her finger unwillingly continued to scroll down, her eyes hazily glued to the screen. _Don't_, her mind told her.

_**Who does she think she is? Been here a week and already she pisses me off.**_

Katniss didn't even know the girl. _Get off the page, Katniss_, her mind continued, this time more urgent than before.

She batted away the warnings, her eyes disbelieving but her entire body understanding that the words were true.

_**I wonder why she even bothers to come to school.**_

_Turn away from the page_.

_** She tries to act so badass. Attention-craving whore.**_

_I'm warning you_.

_**I can't believe I tried to be her friend. Her cousin was the one who tried to make me talk to her. Didn't expect that our friendship would go long though. Behind that façade of hers, I know there's a slut waiting to strike**_.

_Katniss!_

Katniss shoved the laptop of her lap as if it stung and slammed the lid shut, pulling back to the point where her back was against the wall.

Her eyes bore into the laptop for a while; as if doing so would make it burn and have the comments go down in flames with it. But it remained sitting there, taunting her, the shadow of the sun outside casting a grin on the lid.

She knew she should've replied to Enobaria and told her that everything was fine, to keep her off her back, but whenever her fingers twitched to open up the laptop again, she knew what was waiting for her on the screen and pulled away like a snake had taken a swipe at her hand.

Katniss hadn't realized she wasn't breathing until she felt her heart thumping dangerously frantic against her chest. Inhaling deeply, she forced her eyes to tear themselves away from the laptop.

Resting her chin on her arms perched up on her knees, she stared at the purple wallpaper before her. It was a dark lilac color, contrasting the black coat she had thrown onto her chair.

With hawk eyes, her gaze zeroed in on a tiny flap at the side of her desk. It was small, but it was prominent, and it bothered her. Seems like Cato's mother's perfect room didn't turn out to be so perfect.

With aching legs, she forced herself to the edge of the bed, crawling over to the side of the desk, where she leaned back and raised her finger to pick at the imperfection.

The wallpaper peeled back slightly, and pinching her nails together, she tore away a bit more. It was not longer camouflaged. It was as visible as the fear she tried to keep hidden in her eyes.

She pulled back the wallpaper, revealing the dull gray hidden all along behind it. It stared at her for a moment, and she stared back. It was old from age and dull from lack of light, and Katniss raised her fingers so that they ran against the cool and cold wall.

If only it was so easy to hide.

**It's finally getting to her, but at least a few Catoniss was thrown in!**


	13. Chapter 13: In Your Arms

**Okay guys. First to let you all know, there is another story that's quite similar to mine. It's called True Love Never Has An End. I just wanted to let you guys understand that it's okay that another inspiring writer has made a story that is similar to mine. I've actually checked the story out and it's pretty good. As long as they don't copy my words and actions thoroughly, I won't drop this story. **

** However, if they do somehow decide to copy all ideas completely, THEN I'll be slightly suspicious. Otherwise it's cool that they made a story like that. If you guys want, check it out.**

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Cato's POV:

Cato saw Katniss leaving the cafeteria, a group of girls trailing after her suspiciously.

He didn't realize he was stabbing his food until he felt a rough hand grab his wrist. "Dude, stop murdering your pancake and eat it already."

Though Finnick's words were meant half heartedly, his eyes lingered to the direction Cato was staring at. By then, Katniss and the girls had left. "What is it?"

Cato shrugged his shoulders. "I'm screwed for the algebra test, is all," he muttered in a lame attempt to get them off his back.

At this, Finnick stopped eating and exclaimed, "We had a test today?" With a nod from Gale, Finnick cursed and fished through his bag for a pencil and paper. "Shit, Gale, will it kill to help me?"

Cato, though he was already caught staring by his friends, felt his eyes linger over at the empty door again. He sighed and scratched his head. He was really losing his mind. Why should he care? Katniss was a strong girl. She could handle a few wimpy teenagers.

But the more he sat, the longer he felt uncomfortable, especially since he saw that note in her hair the day before.

With a groan, he rose to his feet and dumped his trash in the trash bin, unaware of the curious eyes that followed him as he left the door.

He was a good twenty feet away when he began to wonder where he was going. He slowed to a stop. Where would a girl like Katniss go to? Somewhere outdoorsy maybe.

He found his feet moving on their own, leading him to the courtyard where students went to when skipping class. He knew because he was one of those kids a part of his life.

He strolled down the halls, hands stuffed into his pockets nonchalantly despite the fact that his mind was buzzing. Those girls didn't look rather kind, and it wasn't like a piece of paper with the written word whore would just magically appear in Katniss's braid.

Cato's legs picked up into a nice jog as he opened the door to the courtyard and stepped outside.

Katniss's POV:

There was no point staying in the cafeteria. Nobody accepted her anyway.

Katniss slowly gathered her items and pulled herself off the seat of a deserted table, which slowly began to mingle around with students the moment she stood up. She pulled the strap of her bag closer to her body and exhaled deeply before turning and leaving the cafeteria.

She didn't realize she was being followed until she stepped towards the door that led to the courtyard, seeing the reflection of a few girls trailing a bit too close behind her.

Before she could turn and yell, one had thrown something around her mouth, cutting Katniss's angry shout and yanking it tightly around to the back of her head.

"Hurry up already!" the girl hissed to the others. Katniss knew that voice.

Madge scurried around and was visibly trying to avoid my eyes as she thrashed and stomped on Glimmer's feet.

She was wearing open toed shoes so she bit her tongue, hissing back a scream as she jabbed her in the ribs.

This wasn't good. Katniss drew her elbow back and caught Glimmer in her chin and this time, the slightest yell was emitted from her lips.

"God damn it, can't you guys go any faster?" she whispered harshly as the girls began to wind a dull gray tape around her wrists, which were now drawn to her bag.

"We're trying, Glimmer," a girl whispered, looking frantic as she grabbed her shoulders, trying to stop Katniss's constant thrashing.

"Get her into the shed before she breaks free," Glimmer ordered, and without question, the girls shoved Katniss down the concrete steps.

More than once did she try to make a run for it, but she couldn't get far without Glimmer tugging at her hair.

"Open the doors!" Glimmer shouted at them, and with quick feet, they pulled open the shed doors and Katniss was immediately thrown inside.

She felt the scrape of something against her arm and winced, knowing that she was bleeding. That was the least of her problems now.

Katniss scrambled to her feet and charged at the doors, but Glimmer had securely shut them before she could get out. To her utter horror, there was a slight rustic sound, and Katniss immediately understood the situation. She was locked in.

Katniss could've easily sat down and give up like anyone would do, but she wasn't ready. Her eyes weren't adjusted to the darkness, and all she saw was black, spots of red dancing across her vision.

With a muffled yell, she rammed her shoulder into the door. All the shed did was wobble slightly.

She tried another time, and another, not caring that her arm was sore and she'd probably be bruised all over the next morning.

However, as she took struggled steps back and attempted to run again, she was surprised to see light, and the familiar arms of a blond haired boy.

Before Katniss could stop herself, she rammed straight into him, catching him off guard as he toppled to the ground.

He growled in pain as he felt his back slam against the concrete. Katniss was still in shock, so she wasn't able to do much except stare blankly at the stone only inches away from her.

She was shaking, and Cato noticed. He looked down at the girl and felt his head loll back so that it hit the ground again.

Her face was pale, beady with sweat as her eyes held a certain alarm. Finally, Cato brought himself to stand, gently lifting her to her feet. With rough hands, he tore the bandana from her mouth, and Katniss exhaled deeply.

"Who did this?" he demanded as she struggled to take the duct tape from her wrists without hurting her so much.

Katniss remained silent, watching him as he tore off the tape, not even wincing when a layer of skin got torn off. He winced at the sight but when he looked at Katniss, she remained calm, as if the situation that just occurred did not happen.

"Don't tell anyone," Katniss said finally after a long silence. Seeing his doubtful expression, she repeated, "Don't tell anyone. Not even Prim." Then with a defiant stride, she shouldered past him, trying to mask the pain on her face until she was out of sight.

** So a lot happened. Does it seem too rushed?**


	14. Chapter 14: My Lips Are Sealed

**Man that was a long break. Sorry my faithful readers. I injured by hand in a game and the doctor told me not to use it for a few weeks.**

**I feel horrible leaving you guys hanging, and it nearly brought me to tears when a few people private messaged me to hurry on with the story. I love you all so much!**

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

I made it a point to go back to the girl's restroom to wash clean my cuts, but I stopped the instant I felt a rough hand grab my shoulder.

I came to a halt, but did not turn around. I knew who it was.

"I'm telling mom anyway," he told me firmly, and my eyes narrowed. "Whether you like it or not."

I squared my jaw and glared up at the ceiling, then back down at the sign of the lady on the bathroom door. "Leave me alone." I was shocked to hear that my voice quivered. I spoke again, stronger this time, "It's just a scrape."

"I'm not talking about your injury," Cato said, almost exasperatedly.

I narrowed my eyes as I turned to face him sharply, our eyes meeting coolly. "Then what are you talking about?" I challenged him, my voice cutting the air.

A few people lingering around us stopped to stare, and with a sharp glare, he looked at them, and they continued on, murmuring amongst themselves.

Cato sighed, and then bent closer to me, his breath against my cheek as he whispered harshly, "Are you that simple-minded?"

He was insulting me. I knew it. "What? Are you going to go tattle-tale on Glimmer and Madge?" The words flew out of my mouth sarcastically, and his face morphed into a steely mask.

His hand slid from my shoulder to my forearm, which he gripped forcefully. Somehow, even though his skin was calloused from constant sports, it felt cool against my skin, and without thinking, I jerked my arm away.

He paid no attention. "I should. I would. And I will."

"What does it matter to you anyway?" I demanded. "All you ever did was torture me."

I didn't comprehend the words that just left my mouth until his eyes widened and he stopped speaking.

Now he knew. He knew that he was my bully.

We stood there in tense silence for a moment, and I stayed put as stone, as if doing so would somehow rewind my words.

Then, "What do you mean I tortured you?"

Despite the relief, disappointment involuntarily overcame me. The problem was, I didn't understand why. I should be relieved, happy even. But the fact that he didn't recognize me just stopped me short.

It was then that there was a voice behind me, "Is there a problem?"

For a second I was worried it was a teacher and we were in deeper trouble than we should be, but thankfully, Cato spoke coolly, "Johanna."

I turned and faced her. She was leaned against the opened door of the girl's bathroom, a cigarette burning in her hand. She looked at Cato, then at me. Her eyes bore into mine, and then trailed down to my wrists, where the duct tape had torn off some skin. Self consciously, I moved them behind my back.

She frowned but looked back up at Cato, "You trying to rape her?"

Cato, for once, looked slightly taken aback. But he composed him soon afterwards. "We were just talking."

"Huh," Johanna said, her head lolling back as she cracked the kinks in her neck nonchalantly. "Whatever. I suggest you guys rap up…whatever you're doing 'cause last period's gonna start soon."

Cato sighed and looked at his watch strapped to his wrist. I watched silently as he shouldered his back and began to walk away. But on the way, he turned and sent me a look that practically screamed the words, "This isn't over yet."

Only until he rounded the corner did Johanna speak up, "Wanna talk about it?"

I answered with the shake of my head.

"This is sooo freaking boring," Glimmer complained.

I only glanced up at her as I continued sketching out the mural drafts.

Glimmer was lying on top of the black surfaced tables, her bare legs outstretched as she twiddled with a piece of blond hair. Madge was lying with her, the top of her head touching Glimmer's.

They both had blank looks on their faces, guaranteeing that they've forgotten everything that happened. Or so I hoped.

I exhaled silently.

I continued to draw out the lines and Glimmer looked over, her blue eyes flashing dangerously. "And what is that?" she asked me with a grimace.

I didn't reply, continuing to sketch.

Glimmer sat up and swung her legs over before hopping off and stalking forward to inspect my work.

I heard her stop next to me, but I pretended I didn't acknowledge her presence until she had ripped the paper from under my hands.

"Are these supposed to be people?" Glimmer asked. "They don't even have faces!"

"They're masks, Glimmer," Madge said, yawning as she hopped off the table. "Poorly drawn if you ask me."

Well at least I was working, I wanted to spit out. But I remained quiet as I traced the tip of my pencil along the edge of the table.

Glimmer eyed me from the corner of her eyes. I saw her line of sight trailing from my face down to my wrists, which were covered by my jacket.

Without warning, she grabbed my shoulders and shoved me up against the wall. I tried my best to remain appearing unperturbed as she gripped my wrists tightly.

"Don't you even think about showing these to anyone, got it?" she hissed at me, her words as sharp as knives and her eyes just as deadly.

I pursed my lips and raised my chin, ignoring the searing pain as my raw skin got burned by the rough texture of my jacket.

I saw Madge squirm, but remained were she was standing. She saw my eyes meeting hers and they instantly narrowed. I looked away back at Glimmer, who began to speak again, "And if I find out that you did…" She didn't bother to finish her sentence. She just let out an abrupt, short and utterly sarcastic laugh.

"Madge!" she demanded, and immediately the two left the cold room.

I allowed my mask of defiance slip once as I gritted my teeth and pulled back the sleeves of my jacket to inspect the raw skin. It was a fleshy pink and red, but not to the point where blood was coming out.

I sighed and closed my eyes. It's a Friday, I reminded myself, there's no school tomorrow.

I moved to leave the room when I saw somebody walk into the classroom.

Mr. Abernathy looked at me through hazed eyes. "What're you doing here?" he asked, his words slurred.

I wondered if he had been drinking, but that was the least of my problems now.

When I didn't answer, he cocked his eyebrow and scanned the room until he saw my draft on the ground where Glimmer had left it.

He grunted as he bent down to grab it, his eyes scanning the paper. "Is this yours?" he asked me. I was silent as I took it from him.

"Nice draft," Mr. Abernathy said before letting out a rather impolite burp. "Where're your partners anyway? Glimmer and that…girl." He waved his hand dismissively.

"They went home," I answered him shortly.

"Home?" he repeated dumbly. I saw him trudge over straight under the clock, eyes squinting when he tried to make out the numbers. "Then what're you still doing here?" he was unbothered by the fact that he had already asked that question.

"Just leaving," I muttered softly before grabbing my bag and the paper out of Mr. Abernathy's limp hands. I left before he could muster up the last bit of his soberness.

Only to run straight into the last person I wanted to see at the moment. Why couldn't these people leave me alone?

"What did you mean?" Cato demanded the moment I stepped back.

"You've got to be more specific than that," I bit back, already knowing what he meant, however.

"You said I tortured you," Cato told her, "when I haven't even met you before."

I didn't want to deal with this right now.

I made a point that I did not want to talk by turning and storming down the hall towards the exit, but somehow, I was less than surprised when I heard him jog up beside me.

"I'm talking to you," he growled, and my eyes flickered over to see him glaring at me.

I didn't reply and let out an aggravated sigh as I pushed open the doors and barged outside.

I paid no attention to the sudden chilled air. The clouds hung like bad omens above our heads, thickening which each step I took as if my emotions were drawing out the storm within them.

I stopped when I felt a rough hand on my shoulder, and I turned, glaring as Cato whirled me around. I glared up at him and he opened his mouth to speak. But then he closed it again and sighed.

"Please," he said, and I felt my heart stop for the slightest second. His voice held such a force that would've been described as arrogant, but that slightest quiver made me catch my breath.

I stared at him for a second, debating, and he stared back, looking rather uncertain.

Then almost immediately, my anger returned, "Ask my battered book, my younger sister, or my dead father. Ask the scar on my arm or the one you left marred into my brain. Ask anybody." I was shouting, and realizing this, I calmed down with the last few words, "but don't go coming to me."

Then I shook off his hand and without having a second thought, stormed down the asphalt in the direction of his house, ignoring the flaming burn on my cheeks.

I bit down on my tongue to keep from screaming.


	15. Chapter 15: A Date Offer

**So it's been a while and I apologize. Hit me on the head if you want. This chapter is simple but good. If you wanted a lot more Cato and Katniss interaction, again, feel free to hit me. I'm trying to keep their relationship slow.**

**Ha, anyways, I hope you guys enjoy chapter fifteen and PM me if you want to give any suggestions to the story! Now on we go!**

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Rue found Katniss hiding out in the bathroom. She didn't bother to lock the door. After all, who would want to see her in this state?

Rue quietly stepped inside and shut the door, and if Katniss was disturbed by her presence, she did not show it. She continued to stare blankly at the drawers before her.

Rue shuffled slowly to sit beside Katniss, curling up her knees and resting her chin on them. Rue didn't need to say anything and just continued to watch Katniss, waiting to see what happened next.

Sometimes it felt as though that's all this family ever seemed to do.

* * *

It was a week before the annual Winter Ball. And Katniss only knew that because the entire school was a buzz about it.

Girl whispering amongst each other in the corners of the halls as they jumped animatedly at the thought of their crushes asking them to be their date.

Katniss could care less about the entire occasion. After all, the only boy she seemed close with was Cato, and he for sure was not going to be asking her to the dance. He's got every other girl in this school wrapped around his pinky, and judging by the last time they came face to face with each other, they _both_ were doing whatever they could to steer clear of the other person.

Rue had told her right before she stood up to go back to her room that everything was going to be alright. Although Katniss knew Rue's words would have no effect, that was the only thing Katniss wanted to hear at the moment. So she did nothing but nod.

The situation she was in right now was so incredibly screwed up that sometimes she just wished she was still in her previous house. Even if the roof did collapse, she didn't care much anymore. Death, at some times, could be much easier in her opinion.

But who was she to talk about death so loosely? She still had Prim, and though her mother was so incredibly hostile, Katniss knew that her mother needed her to lean onto when times got rough. And Katniss still had her back to her.

She shouldered her bag and heaved a long sigh as she spun the combination to her locker.

She heard giggling just a few feet away and turned to see none other than Cato himself, swarmed by the tens of girls who subtly kept on flicking hair behind their shoulders.

Katniss frowned at the sight of the almighty boy, smirking triumphantly to himself as he looked down at his petty followers. But then he looked up, and to both their dismay, their eyes locked.

It lasted more than a few seconds, but Katniss was the first to turn away. After all, that's what she's best at.

She pulled her algebra text book from her locker but as she reached up to slam it shut, someone else did it for her.

Surprised, she looked up to find a grinning Peeta. Unconsciously, she took an uncomfortable step back.

"Hi," he said, rubbing the back of his flushed red neck.

A long silence dragged on afterwards, and Katniss squirmed with her items. Then she realized that he was waiting for her reply. "Hi," she said softly, pursing her lips as she looked up at him questionably.

Peeta looked back down at her and instantly his entire face became red. Katniss, despite herself, reached a tentative hand up and checked his temperature.

Peeta stiffened and turned even brighter, if possible. Katniss immediately pulled her hand away and looked down. "You're not sick, are you?"

Peeta looked taken aback by her question and he gave a quiet laugh. "No, I uh-I'm not."

Katniss gave a slow nod and began to gather her things. "Well, if you don't mind I'm going to-"

"Wait!" Peeta called for her as she turned around. Stopping, Katniss faced him once again.

"I-I actually just wanted to ask you if, you know…" Katniss didn't know. This Peeta boy was not making any sense right now.

Seeing her blank expression, he rushed on, "I just wanted to know if you…if you wanted to go the ball with me?" It came out as a question in the end, as if he rehearsed asking her but then remembered that it was supposed to be a question.

Immediately, Katniss's eyebrows rose before lowering back into an impassive expression. So maybe she was wrong. Maybe there was a boy who was willing to bring her to the dance despite her social standing.

But then again, where was she to say yes? She was one of a couple hundred girls that he could've asked. She'd only drag him down with her. After all, he was still part of the group that dropped her the moment she slipped up with herself.

She could be anywhere during the time of the ball, maybe she can go for another jog, but then there was that nagging thought that pulled at the back of her head. Esme would nag her for not going and Cato would probably smirk at the sight of her in jogging pants while he left in his tuxedo. She will not let him have the satisfaction.

So she turned back to Peeta, who had, looking flustered, said, "But you don't have to go with me. I mean, I'm sure there are hundreds of other guys who asked-I mean, I'll just-"

"Wait." This time it was Katniss who stopped Peeta. With hopeful eyes, he turned back around. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Okay," she repeated, "I'll go with you."

A smile graced his features and Katniss blinked, surprised at the warmness of his grin. "Really? Oh my-Thank you," he said, so caught up in his glee that Katniss's eyes softened. "Oh god. So…I'll see you then? I mean-" He was walking backwards as he spoke, and he stumbled over somebody, and he went tumbling down.

Katniss turned back to her locker and sighed to herself. She couldn't believe what she was doing. She felt odd, a pulling sensation at her heart, but it wasn't sad. In fact, this was the first time she ever came close to being happy.

But then when she turned back around, she saw an icy pair of eyes on her, and knowing whose it was, she turned and greeted him with a challenging glare.

Cato disregarded the girls around him and frowned at her, like a father would look like before scolding a child.

Katniss remembered when she was scolded by her father, and though they weren't happy memories, she still clung onto them.

Sighing, she pivoted around, breaking their gaze once more, mentally banging her head for even bringing up her father.

So she went to her classes, all the while feeling two pairs of eyes on her.

She caught eyes with Peeta once, and he flashed a cheeky grin before turning to look back at the board. But more than once she saw Cato staring, but then he'd cross his arms and look away coldly.

Katniss didn't understand why she even bothered. After all, _she_ was the one to tell him to stay away from her.

* * *

It was a few days after Katniss was asked to the dance and when she came home from school, Esme shrieked with delight and ran towards her.

Surprised, Katniss dropped her backpack and could only watch as Esme dragged her to the kitchen. "My baby's going to a ball!" she laughed merrily and Katniss was taken aback. Her baby? And how did Esme know that Katniss was going to a ball? Must've been Prim.

Katniss sighed but allowed herself to be dragged to the kitchen.

Katniss pulled her arm out of Esme's grasp as the woman gestured wildly at the dresses being displayed on the dinner table.

Katniss's eyes immediately widened at the range. There had to be eight at least, and gorgeous ones as well. She looked up at Esme who was bouncing up and down. "So? Anyone catch your eye?"

Katniss looked down at the dresses, but none of them really struck her eye. Until she came to the last one. She stared at it for a minute, at the gorgeous silky red material and the blooming black lace that wrapped itself near the waist of the dress. It was classy, sophisticated and if Katniss could say so herself, rather appealing to the eye.

Esme was too busy showing the dresses to Katniss to notice her liking towards the red and black gown before her.

At the sound of the door opening and closing, Esme dropped a bright pink dress that resembled a tutu onto the table.

"Oh, Cato's home!"

At the sound of his name, Katniss stiffened and dropped her eyes away from the dress. It's been a successful few days since Cato and Katniss have spoken a word to each other, and despite the silence, the two of them both knew they had to start talking again soon, otherwise Esme would get suspicious.

There were sounds of feet making their way to the stairs, and Katniss let out a silent sigh of relief. "Cato, hun, come over here!" Esme yelled from beside her, and Katniss immediately tensed up again.

There was a pause in his footsteps, and then they started, slower than before. Cato immerged in the kitchen and immediately his eyes fell onto the dresses littering the dining table.

"Guess what, Cato? Katniss is going to a ball!" Esme squealed with delight in a way that would resemble a giddy school girl.

Katniss crossed her arms uncomfortably and narrowed her eyes at him. He stared at her for a moment before looking down at the dresses.

"I personally think this navy blue sequined dress would compliment Katniss's body type, but then ago this purple is just plain gorgeous…"

Katniss didn't bother listening to Esme and watched as Cato continued to stare at the display of girly gowns. But then his eyes rested on the black and red lace dress. His gaze lingered on it for a moment and then he turned away to look at Katniss, who watched him skeptically and curiously.

They held a gaze for a moment, blue eyes burning into stormy gray. And then he said so quietly she wasn't sure if she heard correctly, "Choose a nice one."

Katniss reeled back in momentary surprise, but he had already turned away and stalked up the staircases, his ears flushing red at her reaction.

Esme, too caught up in her blabbering, didn't notice Cato was gone until Katniss had quietly disappeared from the kitchen herself, leaving the poor woman dumbstruck as she held a puffy Cinderella gown in her hands, swiveling her head back and forth. "Huh? Where'd they go…?"

**IMPORTANT: I'm going to post the picture of the dress in the chapter where she goes to prom, so don't go off and Google image it looking for the dress. Thanks guys for reading and I hope to hear from you on my next update. Baiiiiii!**


	16. Chapter 16: Nursing A Punch

**Oh my god. Don't. Just don't. I know what you're all going to do. Yell at me for abandoning the story for so long. YES I KNOW! But what can I say? My inspiration bunnies are flying free without me…**

**I haven't updated in so long and I'm sorry…I'm sorry…**

**AS A GIFT HOWEVER I decided to post the dress early in advance for those of you who want to see it-an apology for the long wait. I love all you guys so much for keeping up with my irregular updates and if I could I'd give you all a cookie.**

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Six uneventful days passed and it was now a Thursday. One more day until the ball. Every now and then, Katniss's eyes would flicker up and stare at the dress hanging in the closet by her door, a brilliant flash of red and black that one's gaze could not leave quite easily. It was effortlessly gorgeous.

Katniss knew she didn't have the right to be the one standing in that dress in a couple of hours. There were much more beautiful girls out there who would have killed to be in her position, with her beautiful gown and accomplice to the ball.

She still couldn't bring herself to call him her date because after all, it'd be embarrassing for the both of them. Maybe she was Peeta's last ditch person to ask. And when they reach the ball he'd leave her side and she'd be left alone sticking out like a sore thumb over dressed and overly excited for nothing. No, Katniss was not excited for anything.

More than once she picked up her phone, in determination to text him (Yes, he had suspiciously entered his number into her contact list) and tell him the night was off. But the clear memory of his tomato-red face and squirming schoolboy attitude had her setting the phone carefully back down seconds later. Despite her cold personality she couldn't break someone's heart. After all, he _was_ the only boy in the entire school to lower himself to her standards and ask her to be his date.

"Katniss!" Esme's singsong voice said from downstairs. "Someone's here for you!"

Immediately, she was uncomfortable. Was it Peeta? Was he coming here to call it off before her?

Slowly, she rose to her feet and walked to the door.

She saw Esme's back as she descended the staircases, but when she came into clear view of who it was, she froze and stopped in her tracks, hoping that she would not be seen if she did this.

Clove looked up at Katniss and, almost as surprised as she, greeted a stiff, "Katniss."

Katniss only stared back and Esme must've sensed the tension between the two because slowly, without a sound, she slipped out from the living room and back into the kitchen.

Releasing a breath, Clove forced a tentative smile and said, "So…how are you?"

Immediately, bazillion things roared in her head, threatening to burst out. Angry, frustrated, tired, sad, were among them.

"Fine," she opted hollowly.

Clove nodded slowly and uncomfortably shouldered her bag. Her usually bright brown eyes were downcast and staring at the ground. "Alright, do it."

A cold stare from Katniss asked her unspoken question.

"Yell at me," Clove continued, "Call me a bitch and I won't care. I know I was for leaving you."

Katniss was never fond of these heart-to-heart moments, and immediately tried to veer away from it as she turned to walk back up the staircase.

It was only until she reached her bedroom did she realize Clove had followed her inside. "I mean, I never would've guessed Glimmer would go this far as to completely neglect you from the entire group. If I did, I would _so_ have done something about it."

"But you still haven't," Katniss found herself bluntly replying.

Clove gave an uncharacteristic, wary nod. "Yeah. I haven't."

A tense moment passed before Clove asked nervously, not meeting Katniss's eyes, "You're not mad, are you?"

"I am," Katniss said, and through the tone it was easy to say that she wasn't, but take a look at her cold steel eyes and you'd wished you'd swallow your words.

Clove seemed to realize this because she let out a sigh. "I knew it." She raised a hand to absentmindedly rub the forearm of her other arm. "I heard that you got asked to the ball by Peeta?" It came out as a question in the end, as if she herself couldn't believe it.

Katniss nodded, but it was slow and unsure, as she herself still wasn't sure if it was true.

Clove smiled sadly at the girl before taking a seat next to her on the bed. "Okay," she sighed, staring up at the ceiling. "I'm stalling way too much."

Katniss only stared at her cousin in response.

"Foxface and I have been thinking," Clove said, "that Glimmer needs her space. After all, she rarely shows up at lunch anymore; she's always in the halls making out with some upperclassmen." Both Katniss and Clove frowned at this before she continued, "I've noticed that you don't eat in the cafeteria anymore and always outside on the bench. Come meet the two of us in the lunchroom. We'll be saving you a seat."

Katniss didn't like the idea and she frowned to show it, but if Clove noticed, she didn't say anything. In the end, she just nodded, though inwardly she knew she won't show up. She couldn't bring herself to open up to Clove after everything that has happened. She knew it wasn't Clove's fault, but it didn't stop the hostile rays emitting off Katniss's body.

Clove felt them because she let out a deep breath and slowly stood up, smoothing down her dark jeans. "I guess I should be leaving now. It was nice seeing you again, Katniss." The words sounded unrehearsed and uncomfortable.

Clove turned as she was leaving the door to look back at Katniss, "And if you need anything, always know that you still have my number." With those words, Clove pivoted and walked out the door, and only until she heard the door close did Katniss move slowly back to her bed.

She impatiently brushed a lock of hair behind her ear, eyes wide as she stared at the gaping torn wallpaper opposite of her. The bareness of it stared back her, naked in all its glory.

She walked down and plopped down right next to it, running a finger along the ragged edges where she brutally had torn parts of it off.

If only it was that easy.

* * *

Katniss woke up late.

She had told herself a couple more minutes to wake herself up, but it ended up taking longer than she had expected, and soon Prim had come bounding into her bedroom.

"Katniss! Katniss! We're going to be leaving in fifteen minutes! Are you up yet?"

Her eyes shot open but she did not panic. After all, why should she care about making it on time in that horrible school? She could walk.

Groaning, she hastily got up and walked over to her closet, where she stumbled into the first thing she spotted.

Frowning, she made her way to the bathroom, where she slowly brushed her teeth and did her hair. She'd spent way too much time thinking the night before. The evidence was beneath her bleary gray eyes.

After securing it into a twisty braid that hung over her left shoulder, she grabbed her bag and left to the kitchen.

Everyone looked up and greeted her except for a certain person who stayed leaning against the counter, pushing around the cereal in his bowl.

Esme gave Katniss a plate of apples and peanut butter. She ate half heartedly. She didn't have the appetite. The queasiness of what was going to happen at precisely 7 in the evening kept the butterflies in her stomach aflutter.

After putting down good four or five slices, she pushed the plate away and grabbed her bag, eyeing the clock on the way out the door.

"Katniss? Where are you going?" Esme had called after her.

She stopped to glance back at her, a look of disbelief on her face.

"Oh, don't give me that look," Esme said as she ushered her back to the kitchen. "Cato will drive you."

Cato did not choke on his food when she spoke, but on his water. After coughing the lodge in his throat out, he demanded, "What?"

Esme frowned disapprovingly at her son as she grabbed him by the elbow and pulled him off his seat. "Oh, go on. That convertible of yours isn't for looks."

Cato opened his mouth to protest but in the end, just sighed and grumbled as he grabbed his keys off the counter and headed for the door.

Katniss had half the mind to just leave and walk past his car without a second glance, and she w as sure he would've liked her to do so, but Esme had followed them out onto the porch, where she watched as Katniss clambered into the passenger side of the car.

"It's chilly! Make sure to button up, sweetheart!" she called over to the point where nearby joggers turned and sniggered.

Cato groaned aloud and Esme must've heard because she shook her head, "Oh not you!"

Katniss immediately knew she was referring to her and slouched down in her seat, crossing her arms over her dark red cardigan.

Cato wasted no time revving the engine and going off, his speed so quick that he left skid marks in the pavement on the side of the road. Katniss couldn't be more thankful.

Only until he turned at the next block did he slow down, and Katniss risked a peek over at him.

His jaw was locked, eyes set on the road ahead of him. He showed no sign of wanting to speak with her, so she settled back down in the uncomfortable silence.

Then, after a minute of driving, he spoke, his voice monotone and free from emotion, "Mom wouldn't shut up about your dress last night."

Katniss looked over at him, but he was still staring at the road as he spoke. "She kept on telling me on how she'll do your hair and makeup tonight. Load of bull to my ears." Despite Katniss's lack of interest herself, his words were harsh and she found herself frowning at the dashboard.

"Why do I get the feeling she's more excited than you?"

Katniss looked up at the sky and sighed before replying carefully, "She's a twelve-year-old within a forty-year-old woman's body. Must I say more?"

Cato couldn't help but offer a smirk at Katniss's remark, but she did not see it. She was too busy scowling at the road as they drove on.

They were silent for a moment and then he spoke, "I heard Clove coming in last night."

Katniss said nothing in response.

"What did she want?"

She really didn't want to talk right now, especially on such a sore topic with him of all people. "About the winter ball."

Something about the name of the dance set Cato off. He was quiet for a long time, letting the wind ride through their hair, untangling knots as he pressed the pedal, illegally zooming towards the school.

Katniss didn't stop him. She could really use the opportunity to avoid this conversation.

When they arrived at school, she took her time to unbuckle her seatbelt and exit the convertible. She didn't thank Cato for the ride. It wasn't on his own free will anyway.

She turned to enter the school, only stopping when she heard someone yell, "Yo, Cato! Picking up girls this early in the day?"

Normally, Katniss would pay these comments no mind, but the fact that they yelled it _purposefully_ loud so she could hear made her irritation spike.

"Finnick. Lower your voice," Cato said, and despite herself, Katniss felt herself stop to hear the conversation.

"Why? You should let everyone know you banged a hot chick."

"Finnick." Cato's voice was dangerously steely, but the idiot dolt didn't hear the threat in his words.

"Yo, girly!"

Call it intuition, but Katniss immediately understood it was her he was calling out to. She didn't turn around but as if his words were a wakeup call, she felt her feet move again and carry her into the building.

The sound of his cackling laughter followed her as she jogged into the school, cheeks flaming internally at her own humiliation.

She was glad that nobody inside heard any of that, but she knew that it was only a matter of minutes before it spread around the entire eleventh grade.

Katniss made her way to her locker, shuffling her shoes as her heart weighed unnaturally in her chest. Was it the fact that Cato didn't even try to defend her? Was he _allowing_ this Finnick guy to ruin her reputation even more than it already has?

When she arrived at her locker she customarily tore off all the hatred letters taped to the steel and dumped them into a trash nearby. She could forget about this. She will forget about this. After all it was just a stupid comment. She heard those endlessly each day.

She plugged in her earphones in hopes of drowning out her thoughts as she pulled out the necessities for first period.

Apparently the music was blaring so loudly that she didn't know her name was being called until she felt a tap on the shoulder.

Katniss turned and pulled out one of the buds so she could hear Peeta. "Hey Katniss," he said, face red as he smiled widely at her.

She nodded and drummed her fingers against the back of the spiral she held in her hands.

"I'm really excited for tonight."

"As am I," she replied, but her words were empty as they were spoken.

Peeta ran a hand through his hair and nodded at her. "My Chemical Romance. Nice," he complimented.

Katniss was momentarily surprised he could hear the music through the droning of passing students and the distant bell in the air. "You know MCR?" she questioned airily.

"Of course! Famous Last Words is my favorite song," he replied, seeming relieved of the direction of conversation.

Katniss discreetly toned down the volume of her music.

"So have you picked out a dress for tonight?" he asked. A second later he flushed and continued, "Oh what am I saying? That was stupid…Of course you picked out a dress. I mean, it's been a week and the dance is tonight and it'd be weird if you didn't…Not that I'm calling you weird if you don't have a dress it's just, you know, an assumption." He was rocking back and forth on his feet as he spoke, his voice dwindling down near the end of his sentence. "God I must sound stupid. Sorry. I was rambling."

"Don't be," Katniss said, though inwardly she felt a nerve pop somewhere in her skull. She already had a headache as it was.

Peeta continued trying to make light conversation to pass the silence but somewhere in the middle of it, Katniss found her eyes trailing to her right down the hall.

The boy from this morning, Finnick, was walking down, nursing a bruised cheek and black eye as he did his best to swagger through the crowd that parted like the Red Sea for him.

Not even a few seconds later, Cato came from the direction Finnick arrived in. He looked smug but slightly edgy as he made his way to his locker, ignoring the girls that flocked his side the moment he came in.

He looked like he was searching for something in the crowd, but when his eyes locked on Katniss's, they suddenly narrowed. He gave a long look at her, his gaze only flickering once to Peeta, who had his back to him.

Then Cato turned back around and continued to put in his combination, leaving Katniss to wonder if this day was going to get any easier for her.

**So…not much. But it's just here to build up tension. And, please, do not fret. I won't leave the story hanging for over forty days like the last one. It will be up nice and pretty in less than two weeks. Promise! **


	17. Chapter 17: Orange Sherbet

**Warning: this chap is sort of…angsty? :P**

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Katniss stared back at her reflection in the mirror, her hands numbly smoothing down the satin material of the red and black dress. She could hardly believe that it was herself she was looking back at. What happened to the girl who wouldn't be caught dead wearing a skirt all those years ago?

She slowly made a full turn in front of the mirror, the dress licking at her bare legs as she did, the material cold and silky. Esme had insisted on doing my makeup for the night, and to her blessing, didn't completely suffocate her face with it.

Katniss's normally braided hair was loose, tumbling over her left shoulder in a low ponytail, the curls resting against her skin.

"Wow, you look _beautiful_."

Surprised by the sudden voice, she turned around, instinctively grabbing for the door. Katniss relaxed the slightest bit when she saw that it was only Rue.

She was in her regular pink pajamas, her curly hair let loose untamed around her head. Her dark eyes glowed at the sight of the beautiful girl in front of her. "Peeta is so lucky to have asked you," she breathed. "I'm kind of sad that Cato didn't."

At the sound of his name, she tensed up and turned away back to the mirror. She could still see Rue standing silently at the door of the bathroom.

"Your outfit looks like it's missing something though," she commented before pulling something out from behind her back.

Despite herself, Katniss curiously turned around as Rue moved her hands and pinned something in the opposite side of her ponytail. She took a step back and smiled warmly with satisfaction. "Now you look like a real princess."

It was a black flower, adorned with a red jewel in the center where the yellow core should've shined.

"It's real you know," Rue commented as she watched Katniss finger it. "My mom had given it to me before she died in Uganda."

Her words made me freeze and I turned back to look at her. "It's alright," she said, seeing my unsure eyes, "I want you to wear it. Besides, it looks beautiful on you."

Katniss was quiet for a long moment. It's been the longest time since someone had done something so generous for her. It made her heart swell the slightest bit when she looked back at herself in the mirror.

Silently and gently, she crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Rue's thin body. "Thank you," she breathed into her hair.

It was a while before Katniss felt Rue's arms find its way around her neck in response.

* * *

Katniss heard Esme's hollers calling her down.

"That's my cue," she said sadly as she rose from her spot on the bed.

Prim and Rue, who had accompanied her in the short wait, stood up as well and gave her hugs. "Knock them dead!" Prim laughed to her sister, who patted her head in response.

"Wear it proudly," she heard Rue say as she left through the door. Katniss gave a knowing look to her and a reassuring small smile.

She saw Peeta and the others at the door before they saw her, but when she arrived, nearly all of their jaws dropped.

"Oh, Katniss! You look beautiful!" Esme fawned at her arrival.

She gave a small nod in thanks before turning to look at the others. Her mother was looking at her with soft eyes. Peeta's face was entirely red. And Cato wasn't even looking at her.

It was hard to pinpoint the feeling she got from his reaction. Disappointment? Sadness?

Katniss gave a small huff and promised herself that her bully wouldn't give her a hard time tonight. No, definitely not tonight.

Peeta lead Katniss to his car waiting on the curb. "You look…amazing, Katniss," he said, the first thing he said to her ever since he arrived.

"Thanks."

He was handsomely dressed himself in a classic black and white tux. A red rose was pinned to the chest pocket and his shaggy blond hair was slicked back into a stiff 'do.

"I got a call from Clove. She says that she and Marvel are already there waiting for us."

Katniss stiffened in his words, and Peeta must've noticed because he continued, "You know…not everyone is angry with you. Marvel, Clove, Foxface and I…We're all really sorry."

She didn't like the direction this conversation was going and urged the red light to change already. She leaned her hand into her palm, her elbow resting against the window. "I heard you got nominated for the Winter King," she said absentmindedly. It was true. He was one of the few boys chosen in the entire school to even submit their names to be voted for. Cato wasn't one of them.

He lifted a hand and awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah…it was a, uh, spur of the moment thing really." His face was red.

Katniss was silent for the rest of the ride there, and when the time came, he opened her door and held out a hand, which she took slowly. It was clammy and sticky with sweat.

She pulled her hand away and had the liberty to not wipe her palm against her dress until he turned away.

The school was already bustling with several teenagers. The streamers taped to the doorways and walls were already beginning to fall off, the effect from all these dancing teens.

"So we came late, huh?" Peeta laughed awkwardly.

Thankfully, Katniss was saved from being asked to dance. Clove and Marvel found their way over. When both girls saw each other, Clove gave a wary nervous smile.

"So what happened to you two, bro?" Marvel laughed to his friend, unaware of the exchange between both their dates. "You're an hour late!"

"Guess I got the time wrong," Peeta replied nervously with a shy laugh. The two talked for a long while, seemingly already forgetting about their dates standing awkwardly to the side.

"I'm going to go get some drinks," Katniss announced, wanting to escape the awkward tension between her and Clove.

"I'll go too. My throat's parched," Katniss was disappointed to hear Marvel say as he ran to catch up with her.

They got their punch silently, but Katniss was not surprised to see that the bright red juice was already murky. Even in school someone spiked the punch.

Knowing better, she set down her glass and looked over as Marvel chugged down an entire cup with no sweat. "Phew! That was good," he said before reaching for the ladle for more.

After his third cup he turned to Katniss. "Aren't you going to have some?" he asked.

She shook her head no.

Marvel was quiet for a while and his hand made no movement towards the punch bowl again. "Hey, um…This is a little late but I just wanted to say sorry…for-you know, being a bastard these past few weeks." Katniss was quiet. His sudden apology had caught her off guard. Unsure of how to escape, she gave a quick nod and an empty tight smile before leaving into the crowd.

It wasn't long before she found herself drifting off to the outskirts where she was surprised to find Johanna standing, a cup in her hand as well.

"So I see you came too," Johanna observed, not taking her eyes off the speakers mounted on the wall as Katniss settled against the wall beside her.

"You shouldn't drink that," Katniss found herself saying.

Johanna's eyebrows rose at her words. "It's really alright," she said, pausing to take a swig of it for emphasis. "It's not going to slow me down anyway. I already quit track." At the slight surprise in Katniss's eyes, she laughed, "Wasn't much fun anymore. All the members now are wusses. Even when you were still on the team I had a little competition. Now it's just plain boring." Anyone other than Katniss would've been flattered by her words.

"Where's your date?" Johanna continued after a long silence.

Katniss nodded over to Peeta, who still hasn't realized her disappearance and was continuing to chat with Clove, Marvel and Foxface, who had showed up shortly after Katniss left.

"And yours?" Katniss asked.

She shrugged in response. "He up and left." She winked. "The chump's not ruining my night though."

"Who was it?"

Johanna jerked a thumb over across the room, and Katniss was a little less than surprised to see that it was Finnick. He was still nursing a black eye but he still gathered the attention of over half the girls in the room.

"I must've been a joke date to him," Johanna said, her tone flat as she raised the cup to take another drink. "Knowing him I still don't understand why I bothered to say yes. This place is crap."

Johanna must've finished her drink because she crumpled it up and tossed it over her shoulder. Katniss didn't have to look to know that it landed in the trash bin.

"Surprising that the night's almost done and the queen bitch hasn't showed up yet," Johanna observed, "and her _date_."

The pounding music was all they could hear for a while other than the chatter of the laughing students on the dance floor, and then, "And speak of the devil…"

Entering the far entrance arrived Glimmer herself. She wore a long strapless cream dress, the cleavage dipping so low it could touch her belly button. In tow, she had an arm encased in Cato's, who arrived with her. People immediately swarmed the two of them.

"What a slut." Johanna made a move to the purse hanging at her hip and Katniss watched as she dug out a cigarette. But before she could light it, Katniss surprised herself by reaching an arm out and stopping her.

Johanna looked over, slightly irritated, but obliged putting it away.

A song or two passed by and Peeta still hasn't bothered to find Katniss. She saw him dancing with other girls in the sea of students.

"I would ask you to dance," Johanna said after a while, "but that would've totally screamed lesbian." Katniss couldn't help but crack a small smile.

After the fourth song ended there was a loud droning noise and everyone's attention was guided to the stage.

"Alright, guys, settle down now!" a parent chaperone said, raising a hand to quiet the students. When they didn't immediately oblige he continued, "It's time to announce the Winter Ball queen and king!"

At this, everyone burst into chatter, girls spinning around and hissing words to their friends.

The man let out a throaty laugh. "As you all know the ballets for the queen and king were handed out in front of the main office this past week. Haven't voted? Sorry but it's too late!" Katniss didn't know anyone other than herself and possibly Johanna who didn't vote. "After counting up all the entries we came up with one nominee with an alarming lead of 52 votes! You guys all guessed it! Our Winter Ball queen this year is Glimmer Snow!"

There was a roar of cheers that followed as Glimmer, picked out by the limelight, pressed a hand against her chest and wore a mask of pure disbelief. She was nudged up the stage and with teary eyes, she received the tiara and pink sash. "Thank you all. Thank you so much," she was saying through choked words.

"Oh please," Johanna muttered.

"And the king is…" Everyone waited with baited breath. "Peeta Mellark!"

Katniss's eyes widened at the name and searched the crowd for him, but he was already making his way up the stage, an uncharacteristic smug smile on his face. Finnick, who was also a nominee, stood deadpanned in the corner as the girls he swooned cheered happily at his side.

After their signature speeches, a slow song came on, and with an outstretched hand, Peeta suavely led Glimmer down the stage to the middle of the dance floor.

"Ouch. Rejection hurts," Johanna muttered to Katniss. "Don't worry about it though, Everdeen. Both of them aren't worth the long face anyway." The words didn't reach Katniss's ears.

After a minute, Katniss numbly pushed herself off the wall to stand. She could barely hear the thundering sounds of the upbeat music that followed the slow song.

She made a beeline to the exit, only to bump into someone along the way. She tried to hide her discontent when she saw that it was Glimmer, basked in glory with the sparkling tiara perched on her pretty blond curls. "Well if it isn't Everdeen?" she cooed sadistically. Peeta smiled at her words.

At Katniss's blank expression, Glimmer continued, "Doesn't this tiara look great on me? It's as if it was custom made for myself only." Katniss said nothing and Glimmer frowned for the shortest second. And then she continued on an entirely different note, "Disappointed that Peeta was chosen king? Don't be. It was guaranteed from the start." Though Katniss held no expression her eyes were holding all the hurt they needed. "Oh don't be so sad. If it helps he wasn't into you at all before. It was a dare. You didn't think that someone like him would _actually_ ask you to the dance, did you?"

"Glimmer," a gruff voice off to the side said. The three turned to look as Cato made his way over, his eyes shielded by the hair that had fallen over his face. "That's enough."

"Oh, Cato, don't look at me like that. You know I'd never leave you," she cooed as she nuzzled up against his chest. "But isn't it great? _I'm_ the winter ball queen!" It was surprising when Peeta didn't look the least bit swayed by this action.

Cato pushed her off.

Hurt, Glimmer took a step back, and then in a second, it was all replaced with anger. "What do you think you're doing, Cato? Rejecting me for _her_?" She jerked a thumb over at Katniss for emphasis. By now, the entire dance floor had stopped to see the action unfold.

"I never said that I was choosing her," Cato gruffly replied.

"You might as well be!" Glimmer cried, tears welling and tumbling onto her porcelain cheeks. "What does she have that I don't? She's just a poor girl with no daddy and a torn up life!"

"Glimmer, shut up already!" Clove shrieked off to the side, but her comment was drowned out by Glimmer's next words.

"I hate you! You've never paid attention to me! All you ever do around me is think about her! Well I've had enough. _I'm breaking up with you, Cato_!"

Everyone was still at her last words, and like a knife cutting through silence, Cato replied, "We never had a relationship to start with." Everyone began to murmur amongst themselves, but Katniss wasn't paying attention.

Her hands were clenched into fists at her sides, shaking with contained anger. How dare he. He told her. He told her about her dad and her family. How else would Glimmer have known and blown it to the entire face of the school?

Pivoting on her heels she stormed out of the room, not turning back even when Johanna had gone up and socked Glimmer in the face.

* * *

"What kind of ice cream did you get?" Prim asked Rue as the two of them skipped merrily back to their house.

"Orange sherbet!" Rue replied as she happily licked her ice cream cone.

"Ew, that's gross!"

"Mint chocolate is gross!"

The lights of the streets were on but the two still wore their brightest clothes just for safety.

"It is not," Prim said, wrinkling her nose at her friend as the two continued their way back. "You just don't like it because you love fruits."

Rue laughed, "It's not a bad thing!"

The two swung their joined hands back and forth as they walked back home. Their house was just in sight.

The girls talked for a while longer before Prim stopped suddenly and nervously asked, "Rue…? Does that car look like it's going too fast to you?"

Rue stopped as well and turned to see the headlights of a car swerving uncontrollably into the neighborhood, its tires crossing the yellow dividers in the middle of the road. It took a while until the two realized its hood was barreling straight at them.

"Rue! Move!" Prim dove to one side and Rue to the other, but she wasn't as quick to react.

The orange sherbet cone in her hand went flying into the air, landing with a splat just feet away from Rue's still body, its cream melting into the blood that steadily began to flow from Rue's head.

Prim lay on the streets for a second longer, unable to process what was happening as the car continued to drive away and Rue's body continued to stay unmoving.

And then Prim gathered up all she could in her power and started to scream.

* * *

Katniss was in the bathroom leaning over the porcelain sink when she received a phone call.

Quietly and numbly she reached into her coat pocket to fish it out. "Hello?" she asked. Her voice was hoarse and rough.

"Katniss! Katniss it's horrible! Katniss, please help!"

At the sound of Prim's panicked voice, Katniss stiffened up and replied, "Prim what's wrong? Please slow down." Her reflection in the mirror reflected all the emotions being played in her head.

Prim sobbed into the receiver of the phone, her voice cracking as she spoke, "I tried to call Mom but she didn't pick up! It's Rue! Rue, she…she-!"

In less than a second Katniss had pocketed away the phone and burst out the doors to the streets, not bothering to say anything as she caught up to Cato, who had also ran out the school the same time she had. They both dove into his car and in a flash, the engine was running.

What was happening now made the incident at the dance seem like a whole joke.

**JUST LIKE I PROMISED! Even less than two weeks. Cheers! **


	18. Chapter 18: 1 Pint of Tears

**Hey there guys! So I've been updating quicker than normal! Likey? **

**This chapter is the result of the cliffhanger from last time so I hope you enjoy!**

**(By the way, I'm sorry for my lack of knowledge in the medical field…just putting that out there…)**

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Rue's POV:

_What's going on?_

Red flashes blinded my eyes. I could feel myself slipping in and out of consciousness. Through the blur, I saw cream walls pass me by, the distant yell of a woman as she spoke, "-there's too much blood!"

"Get the paddles! Someone-!"

"Call in another doctor!"

And then a voice, one I recognized: "My daughter! My baby!"

_Mom_.

I tried to open my eyes but it felt as though they were stitched shut. My head pounded and I could feel my breath coming out shallowly, my chest heaving as I fought for air. I desperately reached out a hand to my mother, but my fingers flexed for nothing.

_Help me._

There was a jolt and I felt myself gasping out, but my eyes closed as quickly as it opened. Another one followed shortly afterwards, but this time I stayed still, already unconscious.

Katniss's POV:

I flew in past Cato, ignoring the cries of the receptionist as she stood to stop us.

I already left my heels back in the car, but I didn't care if I looked strange. I grasped the black flower pin Rue gave me as I threw open the double doors and stumbled into the halls of the ER.

Esme was already there, sobbing into her hands as my mother desperately tried to get her to take a seat on the bench. Prim was curled up against the wall on the opposite side, her face hidden in her arms, but I made no move over to her. I couldn't.

Cato came to a stop next to me, but not for long. He crossed the room in a second to his mother. With rough hands he grabbed the collar of her shirt and lifted up her teary face to meet his. "What happened?" he demanded.

My mom tried to intervene, "Cato-"

"Where is she?" I was surprised at the crack in his voice, his words fading weakly as he continued, "Where is Rue?" When his mother didn't respond he released her roughly, dropping her against the seats. "Damn it," he hissed as he threw a punch at the wall, rattling the lights hanging above our heads.

I couldn't move. I stood to the side, fingers tightly gripping the hairpin in my hands.

For a moment it was all silent. All of us strained to hear what was happening in the operation room just yards away from us, but the deafening thumps of our hearts blanketed the yelling doctors.

"She tried to call you," Cato finally said after a moment. All of us were quiet. "Prim tried to call the both of you but neither of you picked up."

My mom dropped her face in her hands and promptly began to sob.

"Why? What was so important that neither of you bothered to pick up the damn phone?"

"Cato, stop it," came Esme's struggled order, but her voice was anything but strong through her tears. "We didn't know. Our phones were off."

Cato looked ready to argue, to explode, but instead he took a deep shuddery breath. He trudged over to the wall farthest from all of us and slouched up against it. We couldn't see his face.

I wanted to make my way over to Prim, who was still curled up stiffly in the corner of the room with her head tucked into her arms, but I knew I couldn't. She looked so emotionally fragile that if I made the slightest move to hug her she'd crumble in my arms.

Esme and Mom wouldn't even look at me, or anyone else for that matter. They stayed seated on the bench, skin pale and slightly green as if they were the ones at fault for this.

I couldn't see the time, or bothered to anyway, but all I knew was that a long while passed filled with tension, the atmosphere heavy with negativity. I was fumbling with a loose black thread on my dress, but even that didn't calm my accelerating nerves as I clutched the black hairpin in my hand.

A millennia later (or so it felt), the door to the ER opened and all of us stood up at once, worry and hope etched into our faces.

The doctor's face was grim. "She is stable now. We were able to save her in time. The driver of the car didn't inflict any critical life threatening injuries on her." The relief on our faces made him continue, "We are still looking into it though. We can't determine if she's thoroughly safe just yet."

A long silence passed by between the people in the hall. He chose this as his chance to continue, "She is facing severe blood loss. She had to receive seven stitches on her head, but even still she must've loss a pint's worth of blood. Head injuries are like that so no need to worry. We need a blood donor."

Perplexed, all of us looked at each other.

"What blood type is she doctor?" Esme finally asked the man.

He gave a brief glance at his clipboard before replying, "Blood Type A. Is anyone here a match?"

Both mothers turned to each other, but each of them gave a soft shake of the head. Prim looked up hopefully at each of us, but her face fell at our defeated expressions. Cato didn't lift his head, but even that was enough of an answer.

So it already comes to this.

"I'm blood type O," I announced as I took a step forward.

Mom looked at me in shock and Esme looked just about ready to faint from relief.

"I can donate."

The doctor looked at me, eyes scrutinizing my muddy and rumpled dress and mussed hair. "I see. Have you had any experiences donating blood before?"

"Once, for charity," I replied softly, focusing all on the doctor and not on anyone else around me.

"Well this is fortunate. If it is alright with the guardian of this girl we better get started filling out the forms. The sooner we draw the blood the better."

I refused to look at Mom, but apparently she had given the okay because then the doctor spoke, "Follow me, Miss…"

"Everdeen," my mom finished for him, "Katniss Everdeen."

"Alright, Miss Everdeen. Let's get started in another room."

As we walked the doctor gave a brief explanation to me, "In all honesty I will be drawing out quite a bit of your blood. A pint can save up to three people's lives. Is that alright?" At my slow nod he continued, "I don't mean to scare you." I didn't reply.

He closed the door behind him and told me to settle down on the lone bed in the center of the room.

"What is your relationship with this girl, Miss Everdeen?" the doctor asked as he picked through files on a desk.

His question caught me off guard for the longest second. How was I related to Rue? Technically I was just a freeloader at her home.

"She's a friend," I told him quietly, "A very good friend."

"I see."

I made my way over to the table and let out a shuddery breath as I laid down, a sudden hollow feeling in the pit of my stomach. _For Rue_, I told myself quietly as I fingered the petals of the hairpin in my hand, _For Rue_.

My mom came into the room with a fresh change of clothes and I silently took them, inwardly grateful to be getting out of the rotten dress.

To my embarrassment I was far too dizzy from the drained blood to even stand on my own, so my mother and another female doctor had to help me into the blue nightgown.

Seeing my confusion at the chosen outfit my mother briefly explained to me, "They doctors want to keep you overnight just to make sure you are okay from losing that much blood." I was too tired to argue by that point.

I was running a few tests the doctor required me to take part of, but afterwards they settled me into a comfy hospital room with the TV on. It was playing Dora.

The nurses came in on regular occasions and each time they would be catering a tray of snacks of some sort and a bottled water. It helped with the dizziness, they claimed.

I was full after my second bag of veggie chips and I pushed the others away. They were right. It did, somewhat, help the lightheadedness, but I knew if I watched too much of this Dora stuff I was sure to have a headache once again.

After surfing the channels a third round I finally gave up and turned off the TV. It was about time I got to sleep anyway. The nurses did say that lights were to go off at ten, and looking at the clock it barely went past nine.

I was staring up at the ceiling with the white blanket tucked up around me, but every time I closed my eyes all I could see was the terrifying blood streaks on the hospital floor as they wheeled little Rue into the ER. The sight haunted my eyes to stay wide open for a good twenty minutes.

I hoped that by giving my blood I had saved Rue, like the doctor said. He mentioned it would save up to three lives.

I gave a long sigh and rubbed my face with the heels of my hands. Everything was just so screwed up lately. I didn't know how I would begin returning to school.

School.

Just thinking about Peeta made my chest ache, an unknown and unsettling feeling. I didn't really care for him, and it was probably less than love when he took me to the dance. Maybe the fact that he actually acknowledged me, unlike other boys in my grade, put a soft spot in my heart for him without my realizing. It froze over though, the second he turned his back on me all those hours ago.

I was probably an idiot for believing he was actually looking forward to asking me to the dance. All those blushes, those cheeky smiles-they were Glimmer's pawn moves to humiliate me further than I already was.

I didn't notice the door to the hospital room opening until a soft voice spoke, "Katniss."

I froze at the sound of Cato's voice as he crossed over the room and took a seat silently by my bed. He took in my forearm, which was bandaged up from the needle injection.

In the darkness I couldn't see his blue eyes but I knew they were as hard as his words, "Rue still hasn't woken up yet. They say there's a chance she'll go into coma."

His words made a breath hitch in my throat, but I didn't let my concern show as I clenched my fists tightly from underneath the blanket. "There's a chance she'll wake up in a few days, or in a few months," his voice cracked at the last few words and he paused quickly to clear his throat.

A long silence dragged between the two of us as we both basked in the eerie quiet darkness of the hospital room. Then something that's been bothering me for a while urged me to speak, "Why did you tell her?"

Cato looked up and I saw his eyes shine in the darkness. "I didn't tell Rue anything-"

"Not Rue," I cut him off impatiently, "I mean Glimmer."

My words were followed by a long pause that was broken by his firm voice, "Family is more important right now and you're asking me about-"

"My father was family to me," I told him, voice beginning to shake as I struggled to remain calm, "Don't forget that. And you told a stranger about him? About my situation? I already have all the unwanted attention I need," I bitterly ended.

"She asked questions so I gave her the answers," Cato spoke, voice hard and rising with every sentence, "I don't see what the big deal is. It's not like it's a crime to talk about your dad. And besides, this is about Rue."

"I know it is," I told him icily, "I know that Rue's the victim right now but emotionally, I am too."

My words seem to cut him short in his retort, and for a second the two of us were quiet as we took a moment to calm ourselves down. "I have all the respect I can give to your dad," Cato finally told me, eyes downcast as he spoke, "But what could he have done for you? What can a father do?" His voice implied more than what was said.

I took a moment to answer, an overwhelming list of answers unraveling in my head, "He was there to hold me when I cried about the mean kids at school. He was there to put a band-aid on my knee when I would be shoved to the ground."

"No one would do that to you."

"You'd be surprised," I found myself shooting back as I glared daggers at him. In his moment of surprise I spoke, "He looked a lot like you, you know-my bully. The same hair the same _eyes_." I took in his perplexed face. "You two could've been twins. The same person." I felt my nails digging into my skin as I clenched my fist. I was seconds away from breaking. I could feel it behind my eyes.

"You know what," I finally said softly as I turned away from Cato. "It's getting late. You should leave before the nurses come to escort you out."

I felt him stand up slowly from where he sat but he didn't move. "Thank you for helping Rue," came his hollow departing goodbye before I heard his feet shuffle out the room.

It was only when the door closed did I-after years and years of containing them-let out a silent tear. But I didn't bother wiping it away.

**And…she's breaking.**

**Wondering why Cato's so touchy on the topic of fathers? :L**


	19. Chapter 19: A Walk Down Memory Lane

**This chapter was devoted to capturing Cato's past life and his relationship with his father. Don't like it. Don't read it. I know all my faithful readers will though.**

**It's kind of a filler, but then again it isn't. It holds meaning. **

****Warning: lots of cussing :P****

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CATO'S POV:

This is the second time it's happened. The second time Katniss looked at me with those hauntingly grudging eyes, as if I'd done something in the past that hurt her. I couldn't think of anything though.

It was because of that man.

My hand tightened into a fist on my lap as I stared at the wheel of my convertible. I was currently residing in the back of the hospital building, in the empty parking lot with no one around.

It was dark outside, and even the street lights flickered the slightest bit, sending an ominous glow through the windshield of my car.

And without another thought, I stuck in my keys, revved the engine and pulled out of the lot. There was only one person who could tell me what the hell happened when I was young before I lost all my memories.

I ran a red light but I didn't care. I was tired and angry and all I needed were the fucking answers. I was tired of playing this game of: Let's see you try and remember.

I pulled into the back entrance of a tattoo parlor and my eyes immediately fell onto the black-suited man leaning against the vandalized brick wall. His briefcase from work was thrown carelessly at his feet and in his hand was a lit cigarette.

I threw open the door and slammed it behind me, not even bothering to stop to lock the convertible when I spat out, "It's time we finally talk about it, Dad."

**(A/N: Don't skip this. This is all about Cato's past life**)

_I was only eight years old when my father came home drunk._

_My mom was in the kitchen on the other side of the house so she didn't hear when he slammed my head against the door frame. I was in a two week coma after that, and when I woke up, I couldn't regain any of my former memories as a child._

_Thing was, my mother didn't hate him for it. She blamed the company for overworking him-the CEO of Ludwig Corp. That was the reason he came home in a drunk stupor._

_I was too young to understand, so like any other kid I forgave him. It wasn't until I got older did I suffer the consequences of losing my memories. _

_I fell behind in school, all of my old friends began to break off from me, and I had to be put in a special class for kids with the incapability to process things as quick as the other students._

_I didn't have to remember anything to know the feeling of displacement._

_I began to act up in class and once had thrown my safety scissors across the room, barely impaling my teacher's head when she wasn't looking my way. I had to be held after class in a fitful rage._

_My dad was rarely home. He was always at some kind of business trip out of town. Otherwise, when he'd come home, I made sure I was anywhere but near the door on those nights. I knew my father felt bad, but feeling bad wasn't enough to be forgiven. _

_It was around that time when Rue came into our lives. Father brought her home himself on the rare occasions he comes back from business meetings. She was only six. My father explained that he saw her in an orphanage while away on trips and decided to adopt her into the family._

_My mom, at first, was angry at him for not running it over with anyone else first, but it was soon resolved the second the little girl called her, "Mommy"- the word that never fell from my lips since when I was born._

_I would get the feelings that my father and mother loved Rue more than they loved me, and with no one else to turn to, I blamed it on my dad for taking away my memories. If it wasn't for him I would still be a good student in school. If it wasn't for him I would've still had the group of friends I did before my head was crushed against the door pane._

_If it wasn't for him I would know who Katniss Everdeen is._

_And what brought her to hate me so much._

* * *

Cato let his father's words sink into his head as he glared bitterly at the floor before him.

His knee jerked up and down uncontrollably as he struggled to remain calm.

For once he wasn't angry at his father-the man who lies to his family saying he goes on business trips when he really just goes on late night alcohol binges. He was angry at himself.

It all began to click into place in his head-Katniss's terrified eyes when they first met; her hostile, cool demeanor whenever she was around him; the cautious distance she always held whenever they were caught in the same room.

_"You were famous for your ruckus and crazy things you and your friends pulled," his father told him earlier that night. "You wouldn't believe how many times I had to be called in because of you."_

_"What crazy things? What the hell did I do?"_

_His father flicked the end of his cigarette butt and the ashes drifted inches away from the tips of his polished black shoes. The scent of smoke burned Cato's senses. "You sir, had a rather nice interest for kicking." The idea that he was going to say 'soccer' was absurd._

_"And?" Cato prompted impatiently._

_"And punching and teasing and-well, anything a bully would do."_

_A bully. The word vibrated through his head. "I wasn't a-"_

_"I would laugh if you said you weren't a bully," his father said, but no amusement was held in that tight grim smile on his face. "You had the image of the perfect bully back then. You had a rather big fascination with braids too."_

_Immediately, Katniss's long naturally woven hair flashed through Cato's eyes. "Why braids?"_

_"Because, sir Cato, you had quite a knack for bullying the girls you doted on." Cato's father paused and took a long drag, the steam tumbling from between his lips when he opened his mouth to speak, "Back when I would be home every night you'd come to me and ask how to get a girl. I said to be tough." He winked. "But you took it to the extremes. What was the girl's name again? Katie-something? Catherine-something?"_

_Katniss Everdeen._

The memory of just an hour before was still replaying through Cato's head as he dropped his face into his hands. Why hadn't he remembered it earlier? She was a victim of bullying._ His_ bullying.

His body shook with anger. He was worse than his father. He was worse than any criminal in the world. It's been years since then and she still hasn't heard an apology. It was no wonder she was so hostile towards him.

His body couldn't even feel the numbing pain when he stood and drew his foot back to kick his dresser over and over again. He couldn't match the physical pain with the one that seared through his heart like a stake.

And below him, seated in the living room all by herself, Esme cried into her hands as the thunderous sounds of her son hurting himself echoed throughout the empty house.

**And after nearly 40,000 words and eighteen chapters-he finally remembers.**


End file.
